


Separation

by TheCartoonFanatic01



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst and Humor, As in super-early, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship, One-Sided Attraction, Pocket Monsters: XY | Pokemon the Series: X & Y, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Written very early during the XY series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24989692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCartoonFanatic01/pseuds/TheCartoonFanatic01
Summary: A catastrophe separates Serena and Bonnie from Ash and Clemont in the middle of a forest. Now, Serena must deal with feelings she thought she never had as she and Bonnie brave obstacles and fight for survival while trying to get back to Ash and Clemont. R&R! AmourShipping, Ash/Serena, SatoSere!
Relationships: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum/Serena
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Prelude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Welcome to yet another "Pokémon" fic that I have cross-posted on FanFiction.Net! Now this one is a doozy. Why? Well, it was the first fic that I ever wrote on AmourShipping, back when it was exploding in popularity during the first days of the anime's XY saga. I know, crazy, right?!
> 
> Well, on with the chapter! ENJOY!
> 
> Disclaimer: All forms of "Pokémon" DO NOT belong to me in any way! All rights go to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Pokémon Company International!
> 
> P.S.: Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

_"Was it really worth it?"_

That single thought raced across Serena's head like a car speeding across a racetrack at high speeds. Right now, she was observing her good friend Ash Ketchum, as he conversed with their traveling companion Clemont while Bonnie, Clemont's younger sister, energetically played with the Dedenne Clemont captured at her request. Currently, Ash and Clemont were discussing on which route to take in order to reach Cyllage City, where Ash would battle his second Gym Leader in the Kalos region. Along with Clemont's younger sister Bonnie, the group was resting a few feet away from the face of a cliff that overlooked the wide, forested landscape.

A nice, cool breeze blew, causing Serena's honey-colored hair to flutter like loose curtains. She could smell the shampoo she used as loose strands reached her nose. Strawberry. It was a nice smell that soothed all of her insides. It was only natural that she would pick such a smell specifically for...

She let out a heavy sigh as Ash started debating with Clemont over whether they should take the safest route or the fastest route. Naturally, Ash wanted to take the faster way. Serena couldn't help but sympathize with Pikachu in that moment; as it sat, perched on Ash's shoulder, it sweat-dropped, its long and spiky ears drooping in disappointment and slight embarrassment as its Trainer once again showed his reckless determination.

Determination. That was the thing Serena loved about Ash. He never gave up, especially when it came to things he loved. The well-being of Pokémon, Gym Battles...

But can the same thing be said for _her_?

Serena remembered how hard it was for Ash to remember who she was. In fact, it scared her a little. After that moment the two of them shared together during their childhood, long ago, she expected Ash to _remember_ her, at least for a little. If she was able to remember him that easily after all this time, surely the same thing could have been said for him. Fortunately, after taking some serious thought into it, Ash finally remembered, and yet, their reunion felt less than adequate to Serena.

Sure, it was eventful. The two had a lot of catching up to do; Ash told her about all of the things he did in Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and the Decolora Archipelago. Serena wasn't at all surprised to hear of all of his accomplishments. From the moment she unofficially met him again on the television set, she had a great feeling that he was someone special. In fact, it was a feeling she had the moment she first met him as a child.

But after that reunion, Serena felt as if everything was falling apart, that she was losing control of the scenario she wanted to play out. She had been dearly hoping for more time with Ash, some precious alone time. Unfortunately, there were two setbacks to that little hope.

First and foremost, Clemont and Bonnie. No, she didn't hate those two for that; she loved them, especially Bonnie! But their presence seemed to ruin the mood for her. Every time she wanted to do some reminiscing with Ash, they always had to be there to keep him occupied. Each and every personal, private moment she could have shared with her childhood friend would only last for under a minute, and that is if she was lucky.

And second of all...Ash himself. Every time she _was_ able to strike a good conversation with him, he always wanted to talk about his Gym Battles, what things to expect in Kalos, and the Kalos League, but most of all, _Pokémon_. After their reunion, all Ash wanted to talk about had something to do with his goals or the Pokémon in Kalos. Granted, he was not selfish; he asked Serena about her goals as a Trainer. She told him that she was tentatively deciding on becoming a Rhyhorn Racer, just like her mother Grace, but of course, she was merely lying, for she didn't know anything else that would seem appealing to her.

But he never wanted to talk about their past, or even do anything to try and further their friendship through means that didn't involve Pokémon.

 _"Was it really worth it?"_ Serena asked from the confines of her mind.

_**"What do you think, Serena? Obviously he doesn't care about your opinion."** _

Serena sighed. _"Great. Now I'm talking to my own brain."_

**_"Well, who else can you talk to? Ash is obviously out of the picture. Clemont's too busy with his inventions to strike a conversation with you. And Bonnie...I doubt she'd even_ understand _what your emotions are. All you have are you and me..._ yourself _."_**

_"Be quiet. I'm trying to think."_

**_"You mean_ I'm _trying to think_ for _you. Admit it, Serena, you made a mistake in trying to join up with him. You should've stayed home at Mom's, practicing Rhyhorn Racing with her and giving me a real work-job. You knew it from the start. The thing is...why do you still follow him like a devoted Lillipup?"_**

_"He helped me out in a time of need. I just...I just feel like I owe him."_

**_"You can't lie to me, Serena. I'm your brain. I store all of your personal information. Including how much you_ feel _for him..."_**

"SHUT UP!"

The honey-haired Trainer covered her mouth upon realizing that she exclaimed the last sentence out loud.

"Serena? Is something wrong?"

Serena blushed upon hearing that voice of his. So concerned, so caring... She cleared her throat and faced Ash, smiling innocently.

"No, nothing's wrong, Ash, nothing at all!" she replied. "I was just...I was just...I was just telling your Fletchling to stop chirping all the time!"

"Fletchling?" Ash held out a Poké Ball for her to see. "But it's still inside it's Poké Ball."

"Oh?" Serena's cheeks turned a deeper shade of scarlet the moment she realized her mistake. "Well, I, uh, I-I keep hearing Fletchling, uh, around here!"

"I don't hear Fletchling," Clemont said. "I can't even hear a single Pokémon around here."

"Are you sure nothing's wrong, Serena?" asked Ash. Then, he noticed Serena's florid cheeks. "Hey, your cheeks are red. Are you sick? D'you have a temperature?"

 _"A temperature?_ Really _?"_ thought Serena as she struggled to hold in her frustration. Then, she widened her smile and stood up. "No, I'm fine, I'm definitely fine! I'm not sick or anything! Hey, I'm getting bored of sitting around here, doing nothing! Let's get on with our trek to Cyllage City, shall we? Okay! On we go!"

Serena quickly marched off, with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie following close behind.

"Hey, what's with her?" asked Ash, looking at Clemont.

Clemont shrugged in response. "Beats me. Probably girl stuff. Maybe some special time of the year, perhaps?"

"Excuse me!" Bonnie exclaimed as she looked up at her brother, pouting at him. "I'm a girl, and I definitely don't do stuff like that!"

Meanwhile, Pikachu watched after Serena as a realization dawned upon him. He looked at Ash, then back at Serena, and smirked.

* * *

"DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE!"

The three masked men sprinted out of the Cyllage City Poké Mart, carrying with them individual sacks that appeared to be full. They quickly jumped into the army-green jeep, which was manned by a fourth masked man. The driver nodded and frantically started the engine, just as the Poké Mart clerk and his Houndoom ran outside.

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" the clerk shouted.

"DRIVE, YOU IDIOT!" one of the men sitting in the back cried. The driver yelped in surprise and quickly sped the jeep away, just in time to avoid the Houndoom's attack.

As the jeep quickly raced out of Cyllage City and into the outskirts, the four men all unmasked themselves and examined the items they stole. The driver was short and stout, with a chubby face that sported curly brown hair and a beard and mustache. The two men in the backseats were both physically identical, being tall and thin and having gray eyes; the only difference between them being their hair, which was blue and short on one, red and stringy on the other. The man sitting in the passenger seat had neatly-combed, wavy green hair with golden streaks, and also yellow eyes that seemed to always glint with malice.

"How big's the score?" the driver asked.

"Biggest one for this month, Nick," the blue-haired man in the back replied as he counted the items in his bag. "These items should make us some big bucks for sure!"

"I still do NOT see why you guys couldn't let me give that clerk his comeuppance," grumbled the red-haired man as he crossed his arms and frowned with disapproval. "He could've caught us there and then with that Houndoom! And yet, you wouldn't let me have my fun..."

"The plan did NOT involve attacking anyone, Lloyd," snarled the man with green hair as he stared at his accomplice with narrowed eyes. "It never does. Learn to keep your impulse in control! It was that impulse that nearly ruined the plan and risk us getting landed in jail, for Arceus's sake!"

"You _never_ let me have my fun, Adam," the man named Lloyd replied in annoyance.

"Uh...what happens if the jeep is on fire?" the blue-haired man asked hesitantly.

"Why, Floyd?" asked Nick, still staring ahead of the rocky trail as he began driving down a steep incline.

"Uh...jeep's on fire."

"WHAT?!" Adam snapped, looking at the back of the jeep. Indeed, a fire was spreading all over the trunk. Though it was small, it was burning quickly, devouring all of the supplies inside the trunk. "DAMN IT! That Houndoom's Flamethrower must've hit us while Nick was driving away!"

Nick screamed and, in a panic, stepped on the gas pedal even harder, causing the jeep to drive faster.

"What do we do now, Adam?" Floyd asked fearfully.

"Nick, stop the jeep and retrieve the water!" ordered Adam. "We need to put out that fire before all of our supplies are completely gone!"

"Alright, boss!" Nick immediately stepped on the brake, but unfortunately, he stepped on it too hard. A few seconds later, the jeep violently turned over on its side and tumbled down the descending trail. A second fire erupted in the jeep's engine as it began rolling.

"DAMN- OOF! YOU- OOF! NICK! OOF!" screeched Adam as he and the others quickly jumped out of the jeep. Standing up groggily, the gang leader watched as the jeep that was their only method of transportation crashed into a tree ahead, and then exploded seconds later.

"Oh, no..." Nick moaned as he stood up. "...I just cleaned the windshield too..."

"Well, as long as we have our score, we're all good, right?" asked Floyd.

"Well," Adam snarled, his fury escalating, "considering the fact that _our jeep was rolling down a_ **damn incline, all because of _Nick's incompetence at driving away on time,_ YOU'D THINK THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO _REMEMBER THE ARCEUS-DAMNED BAGS WITH ALL OUR SO-CALLED SCORES_!** **_HUH_?!**"

"Eep..." Floyd whimpered, feeling himself shrink, as well as Nick. However, Lloyd was clearly savoring the situation, giggling nastily at his comrades' misfortune.

"W-Wh-What do you s-suggest we do n-n-now, b-boss?" asked Nick fearfully.

Adam gritted his teeth and prepared to shout, but then, he took a deep breath and replied calmly, "We find our way outta here, that's what, Nick. We gotta find a way to get outta this Arceus-damned forest and find help. We were wearing masks during that robbery; no one would recognize us. You remember where we came from?"

"Well, uh...um...well, uh, um...uh...I, uh...um... _uhhhhh_..."

"You don't know the direction we came from," replied Adam, still using a calm voice.

"Pretty much."

Adam's fury broke. " **WHAT?!** " he screeched, his voice reaching to the highest heavens. "I AM SITTING LIKE A STUPID MILTANK IN THE **MIDDLE** OF AN ARCEUS-DAMNED FOREST WITH **THESE** THREE BUFFOONS AS PARTNERS, AND WE CAN'T EVEN FIND OUR WAY BACK! ARCEUS-DAMN IT, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT I WANT? I WANT **BETTER PARTNERS** , ONES WHO ARE **CAPABLE** OF FOLLOWING ORDERS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT! **THIS IS COMPLETE TAUROS**!"

Nick, Floyd, and Lloyd all watched as Adam continued to rant, stomping the ground all the while. Floyd looked at Nick and said, "He's gone nuts."

Nick merely shrugged back in response, just as Adam's voice became calm again, albeit with more noticeable effort.

"Okay, here's the new plan. We split up. We find a way outta here. A good thing I saved these walkie-talkies. Floyd, you come with me. We're going down that incline. Nick and Lloyd, you go into the forest and see if you can find anything interesting. We'll contact each other if something good comes up."

"Wait, I go _into_ the forest?" asked Nick, trembling. "With the psycho?" Lloyd giggled with fervent anticipation.

Adam flicked his head at his accomplice, a dark expression on his face. "Got a problem with that?"

Nick hesitated for a moment. "...No."

"Good."

Once the four properly equipped themselves, they set off on the ways Adam laid out. Adam and Floyd ventured down the incline cautiously, while Lloyd happily skipped into the thick brush, snickering sadistically as a reluctant Nick followed close behind. They failed to notice the still-spreading fire that had, by that point, totally engulfed their jeep and was now spreading onto the tree against said jeep, claiming it as its next victim...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes the prologue for the story! Nice, huh?
> 
> I remember when Serena was revealed to not only be Ash's new traveling companion, but also a figure of Ash's past, back when the XY series was still the top subject of anime-related rumors. This revelation was quite the watershed moment for the anime shipping community. Lots of people were hopping on the AmourShipping bandwagon, me included, and I also remember the shipping (not to mention Serena herself) catching so much flak from genwunners and anime viewers who just weren't invested in shipping in general. You could say this fic is a time capsule of the Pokémon anime fandom's feelings, all together in that moment.
> 
> Anyway, you'll see that this fic is already super-outdated. I was so psyched about AmourShipping that I posted the first chapter after the fourth episode of the XY series. Yes, that's right. THE FOURTH EPISODE. This fic is so outdated that it's embarrassing. XP Even so, I'm proud of what I wrote in the end. It brings back so many great memories, looking through the content again.
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this prologue! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	2. Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus begins the second chapter! At the time this chapter came rolling around, AmourShipping found its official name, and man, that was a fateful choice. Now, I can't imagine calling that shipping anything else! Also, yes, that's how early this fic was. XP
> 
> Alright, on with the chapter! ENJOY!
> 
> P.S.: Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

"Serena?" Clemont asked. "Do you even know which way we're going?"

"Yep!" Serena replied confidently, struggling to hide her blushing face from Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. It had been a couple of hours since her embarrassing outburst in front of Ash and Clemont, and the rookie Trainer decided to avoid any further humiliation by taking the lead of their group. Unfortunately, it was all just a spur-of-the-moment decision, and as Serena trekked further into the woods, with her friends trailing behind her, she began to regret walking away.

 _"Why?"_ she thought angrily. _"Why, oh_ why _couldn't I just sit back there and talk it out like a_ normal _person, instead of walk off like an idiot?_ _Oh, I_ hate _this..."_

"I never knew you knew your way around these woods, Serena," Ash said. "And I thought you just started your journey-"

"It's all a matter of instinct, Ash," Serena interrupted quickly, feeling a strong surge of warmth rush up her face. Her entire head might as well burn up...

"Well, we _are_ going in the right direction towards Cyllage City," Clemont pointed out, adjusting his glasses. "Maybe we should just continue on ahead."

"In the middle of all these woods?" asked Bonnie, worriedly surveying the tall trees and dense shrubbery as her Dedenne retreated further back into the protection of the satchel it was safely kept in. "They look so thick and scary, Clemont. I think we should a better route, with more sunlight..."

"Don't worry, Bonnie," said Ash, raising a fist in determination. "If any scary Pokémon come out, I'll just have Pikachu scare it off with a Thunderbolt. Simple as that!"

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu added, smiling in agreement.

"Oh, really?" Bonnie's eyes shimmered with admiration; even in the darkness, they appeared to glint strongly. "Thank you, Ash! That's so kind of you!"

Serena watched as Ash started talking with Bonnie about how to deal with powerful, wild Pokémon that she couldn't handle. It sounded just like a father giving some advice to his daughter. A smile crept onto her lips, so tiny that it was unnoticeable even in the sunlight that broke through the thick leaves hanging from branches that were overhead. She began to think that if Ash was that good with kids, then she wondered if he'd be a great father for...

Before she could delve any further into this developing fantasy, the rookie Trainer shook her head to clear her thoughts, now disturbed by the givings of reality. How in Arceus's name could she start thinking about children so soon, when she was still a child herself? ...Well, her mother always called her a unique person. Who wouldn't, not after all of the intellect she displayed in kindergarten? An outstanding girl in the literal sense, a teacher once described of her.

And yet...

Serena stopped in the middle of the trail that was made barely visible from the large blades of grass. Dead ahead, the trees were growing thicker, and the faint traces of light were easily overwhelmed by the grasp of darkness that threatened to devour these golden rays. She felt her legs tremble.

For her entire life, she was afraid of forests. The fairy-tales her mother read to her in her childhood always depicted the trees as tall, mighty monsters that tormented any wanderers without any mercy, through their immovable frames and the outstretched and long-reaching claws that were their branches. And if that wasn't enough, the trees always heralded and sheltered their minions, creatures that lurked around in the night, preying on those who surrendered to the trees' willpower. Even if the forest was well-lit, Serena would have a hard time stepping inside the uncharted territory if she were alone...

"Serena?" a voice asked, barely reaching her through the defensive barrier her psyche set up. "Is everything alright?"

Registering the voice in a few seconds, Serena glanced over her shoulder and saw Ash standing beside her, a curious expression etched on his face. A new barrier of defense was quickly, instinctively set up as her lips curved into an innocent, cheerful smile.

"Yes, everything's alright, Ash!" she replied. "Thanks for asking. On ahead!"

However, she stood still, expecting Ash or Clemont to take the lead now. Instead, the entire group stood still, waiting for the next move to be made. Serena blinked, a new heat flooding her entire head as she struggled to hold back a physical reaction at bay.

 _"Oh, no! They expect me to go on ahead! What should I do, what should I do, what should I_ do _?"_

"It definitely looks like there's something going on with you, Serena," said Clemont. "It's okay if you tell us, you know."

"Yeah!" Ash added. "We're your friends!"

 _"_ Friends _..."_ Serena thought, now placing slight hatred on the word. However, she replied calmly, "Sorry. It's just...I'm afraid of forests..."

"Afraid of forests?" Ash had an eyebrow raised. "Why is that, Serena?"

 _"Shouldn't he have an idea, after he saved me from the forest when we were younger?"_ Serena sighed within her mind. _"Then again, he barely remembered me..."_

"Maybe we shouldn't pry further, Ash," Bonnie piped up, mentally relieving Serena. "It's probably something private." She quickly took Serena's hand and smiled up at her with one of her wide smiles. "Come on, Serena, we'll be with you each and every step of the way!"

"Yeah!" Ash and Clemont added simultaneously.

After looking from Bonnie to Clemont and then to Ash and Pikachu, Serena smiled. Though she didn't get what she expected for a reunion with Ash, Serena knew that she couldn't have asked for a better group to travel with. It was certainly better than traveling alone with just her Fennekin.

"Thanks, guys..." she replied, nodding at them all, but to Ash in particular, though the Trainer didn't notice.

* * *

Elsewhere in the same forest, Adam and Floyd marched through the thick plants and shrubbery as they made their way across the infinite sprawl of tall trees. Earlier, the incline they were taking ended, and they were forced to venture inside the perilous body of the forest, much to Adam's anger and Floyd's dismay. The two of them had since lost track of the time ever since the two of them first clambered through the itchy brush.

Finally, the two stopped beside a tree to catch their breath. Floyd leaned against the tree trunk, while Adam looked up at the cloudless sky to formulate a new plan.

"What do we do now, Adam?" Floyd asked once he regained his breath. "This is, like, the trillionth tree we've passed now. I think we're lost."

"Shut up, Floyd, don't give me that nonsense!" snapped Adam. "We can't possibly be lost in this deathtrap forever!" He fleetingly checked his watch again, only to be met with the same results: its frame was terribly scratched from the tumble out of their lost jeep, and its time-calculating system no longer functioning. "DAMN IT!"

"We should've stayed with the jeep..."

"That thing was engulfed in flames, you dimwit! Unless you wanted to be Kalos Fried Human for the wild Pokémon here, we had to hightail it!"

"Kalos Fried Human..." Drool began to pool around Floyd's jaws, which were slightly ajar. "...I'm hungry...I must have _food_..."

Adam's eyes widened as he deduced his accomplice's current thinking. "Don't you DARE think about it, you fool! Do I look tasty to you?!"

"Yes- I mean, NO!" exclaimed Floyd, his stupor breaking. "Oh, Adam, we gotta get outta here! I don't think I can handle the forest any long-" Suddenly, he stopped in mid-sentence, his nostrils flared. He raised an eyebrow as he looked around, asking, "D'you smell that, boss?"

Adam began to smell the air and suddenly caught an odor. "Something's _burning_..." he replied suspiciously.

"Smells like _barbecue_..." Drool was now dripping from Floyd's lips.

"You idiot. This is a vast forest! There can't possibly be an Arceus-damn _barbecue_ in the middle of-"

"I know barbecue when I smell it, Adam!" interrupted Floyd, who now succumbed to the insatiable hunger that taunted him. "And I shall eat to my heart's content!"

With a cry of joy, the amateur thief sped away, leaving behind a cloud of dust in his wake. Growling in anger and annoyance, Adam sprinted after his accomplice. As he continued passing the trees, he noticed that the plant-life was becoming thicker, and there was less and less light. The burning smell was becoming stronger now...

 _"Damn it, Floyd,"_ he thought. _"You're setting yourself up for a nice little lunch now! Maybe I should stop running after him. He's definitely done for now-"_

His thoughts were cut short when he saw Floyd, immersed in a blast of sunlight. Adam stopped just in time to avoid plunging down the face of a cliff. The burning smell was now dominating his olfactory senses, almost overwhelming him. It didn't take long for Adam to spot the source of the smell.

The cliff overlooked a wide, vast landscape. Usually, it would be colored fully green from the trees that decorated it; a single river, colored in a dazzling, glittering blue, would snake around this landscape. However, this beautiful sight was now made perverse from the fire that spread rapidly from tree to tree, devouring everything in sight and reducing it to reddish-orange ashes. Adam spotted a flock of Flying-type Pokémon frantically flying away from the thick, charcoal-colored banks of smoke.

"What in Arceus's name?..." Adam asked in shock.

"Whoa," said Floyd. "Whatever it is, it's definitely no barbecue..."

Adam growled in annoyance as he pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed a button to contact Nick and Lloyd.

* * *

Serena felt a little safer wandering through the dark forest, now that Ash was taking the lead of the group again. Watching as he confidently marched down the small pathway of soft dirt and soil, she could not help but feel jubilant inside. As long as he was with her, she had no reason to be afraid of forests anymore! Serena's smile became even wider than it was before, and her walking was energized with a slight skip as she made herself closer to Ash, as if he were her personal shield.

Just then, Ash abruptly stopped in his tracks, and Serena bumped into him. "Whoa, Ash!" she exclaimed, blushing. "Why'd you stop?!"

Then, she heard Ash and Pikachu both sniffing the air. "D'you guys smell that?" he asked.

"Smell what?" Clemont asked.

"There's this burning smell in the air..."

"Burning smell?" replied Serena. "I don't smell any-" Just then, a strange odor filled her nostrils. It smelled like burning wood at a distance. "Okay, now I smell it."

"Come to think of it, I smell it too," Bonnie added.

"I don't really-" Clemont began to sniff the air. "Okay, never mind, I caught it." He continued smelling. "Hm... That smells a lot like barbecue..."

"A barbecue, in the middle of this forest?" Ash asked, looking concerned. "I don't think so. Think something's up?"

"It's probably nothing, Ash," replied Clemont, shrugging. "Let's just go on ahead."

The group resumed walking, although Ash looked reluctant to continue the trek. However, after a couple of minutes of this passed and the smell grew stronger, Serena began to hear panicked noises and looked across her shoulder. Then, she gasped in horror at the sight.

Many forest Pokémon were running towards the group.

"BONNIE, OVER HERE!" screamed Clemont as he embraced Bonnie in his arms. The four all flinched as the stampede thundered straight towards them.

The next thing Serena heard was a chaotic storm of noises that viciously hammered away at her eardrums with the power of drills. Her nostrils were filled up instantly by dust kicked up into the air by the Pokémon. She was forced to try covering both her ears and her nose at the same time as the Pokémon continued sprinting directly past her, miraculously not trampling her over in the chaos. Once the last of the Pokémon, a Spoink, bounced past her, Serena opened her eyes and was greeted by a dense cloud of dust. She accidentally inhaled a breath of dust and began coughing as a result.

"Ash?" she called. "Clemont? Bonnie? Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine, Serena!" replied Ash, to her relief.

"Same with us!" Clemont added.

As the dust began to clear, Serena watched the silhouettes of Ash and Clemont, the latter of whom was holding Bonnie's hand, approach her.

"I wonder why those Pokémon were running away?" Clemont asked as Bonnie let go of his hand.

"Whatever it was, it must've spooked them good," replied Ash.

"Arceus, what _is_ that smell?" Clemont covered his nose with his arm, as did Ash, Serena, and Bonnie; the burning smell was now stronger than ever before. For some reason, it was extremely dark and smoky. The four glanced at the direction from which the Pokémon came, and immediately saw the source of their fear.

About a mile ahead, a fire was blazing furiously, growing larger by the second and spreading fast.

"Is that a FIRE?!" exclaimed Serena fearfully.

"That fire is definitely what's scaring the Pokémon!" Ash cried as he pulled out a Poké Ball. "Froakie, I choose YOU!" He threw the Poké Ball into the air, unleashing the Bubble Frog Pokémon, which croaked at its Trainer. "Froakie, quick! Use Water Pulse on that wildfire ahead!"

Froakie nodded and leaped into the air, creating a blue sphere of energy between its hands. It then fired the sphere at the fire, hitting it and exploding into a wave of water that doused all of the flames within its area. However, the Water Pulse only extinguished a small part of the fire, which continued to blaze across the trees and plants. Froakie continued using Water Pulse, only to be met with a stronger blaze, as if it was growing stronger in response to the attempt to put it out.

"Water Pulse isn't working well enough!" Bonnie cried after Froakie made another try, only to be met with the same results.

"Oh man, if only we had at least one more Water-type Pokémon..." commented Clemont.

"Clemont, quick!" Ash exclaimed. "Can't you invent a device that'll put the fire out?"

"I didn't expect to come across a wildfire, so I didn't bring the supplies necessary for building a firefighting device!"

"Are you JOKING, Clemont?!" screamed Bonnie in frustration and outrage. "We actually NEED your stupid inventions, and you don't HAVE any?!"

"Hey, don't blame me, Bonnie! I can't look into the future, you know!"

As Clemont and Bonnie continued to argue, Serena glanced over her shoulder and gasped. The wildfire was coming _towards_ them, and at an unnaturally fast speed.

"GUYS, WE GOTTA RUN!" she screamed, already bursting into an all-out sprint.

She heard Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie following close behind, and Froakie still continuing to fire Water Pulse attacks in order to ward off the fire. Billowing clouds of thick, charcoal-colored smoke were already starting to overwhelm her eyesight and nostrils, Serena began to feel disoriented, and she covered her nose and eyes with her arm. However, her lungs already reacted to the foreign smoke and the strong burning odors, and she started coughing.

Worried that she might accidentally separate herself from Ash and the others, Serena glanced to her side and saw that the smoke had become so thick that she could only see the silhouette of the closest person, who appeared to be crouched over for some reason while running. Praying to the heavens that the silhouette belonged to Ash, she quickly grabbed the person's hand, tightened her grip on it, and continued to run faster, feeling much safer now that she was holding his hand.

Running in a random direction, Serena refused to stop until she felt the heat that was emanating from the wildfire fade away. Once it did, she stopped immediately and collapsed to the dirty ground, and as she did so, she heard her companion doing the same thing. Opening her eyes completely, Serena found herself staring into a vast sky, whose blue was now made perverse by the rising columns of smoke. Ashes and embers fluttered in the air, carried by the small breezes, resembling small wraiths.

"The sky looks so _ugly_..." Bonnie's voice moaned.

Groggily, Serena nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it... What do you think started that fire?"

"Maybe some scared Fire-type Pokémon or something..." Bonnie paused. "Serena? Where's Ash and Clemont?"

Upon hearing the question, Serena sat up and looked around. Ash and Clemont were nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, she realized that she ran directly into a part of the forest that was already devastated by the wildfire, which then moved on. Everything around her was lifeless and black, with no signs of that familiar green anywhere. Dark smoke hung over the ground, resembling an eerie blanket of fog. The frames of the trees appeared sunken, completely stripped naked of their leaves, moss, and bark, now fully resembling tall, pitiful monsters with multiple long, clawed arms... Serena shivered for a moment, despite the fact it was still a bit hot.

Even through that bleak, dead landscape, she couldn't see any sign of Ash, Pikachu, Froakie, or Clemont anywhere. Out of concern, Serena stared at Bonnie, who had now sat up on the ground as well, and quickly realized that she grabbed _her_ hand, not Ash's...

"Where are they?" asked Bonnie, looking increasingly worried of her current predicament.

Trying her best to look confident, fearless, and mature for the sake of the younger girl, Serena stood up and replied calmly, "I don't know. But don't worry, Bonnie. We will find them." She looked down at Bonnie, smiled, and kindly stretched out her hand. "Come on, let's go look for them."

As Bonnie grabbed her hand, a brief memory suddenly flashed across Serena's head... She was back in the forest, her leg wounded, and a younger Ash was towering over her, having just bandaged her leg. With a kind, gentle smile, he stretched out his hand towards her...

"Serena?" Bonnie asked, bringing Serena back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Serena shook her head and smiled. "Oh, I'm fine, Bonnie. I was just...thinking. Now, where should we start looking?"

"Why don't we go back from the direction we came?"

"I believe we were using this direction to run away from the fire. I doubt going back to the fire would solve things, now would it?"

"I guess..." Bonnie looked around. "It's very scary, Serena. I can't see anything from far away. What if there are angry Pokémon near?..."

"It's okay, Bonnie, I'll protect you." As she spoke those words, Serena remembered Ash saying the exact same words to her back in the forest. She shook her head for a second time, and then she took out her Poké Ball, throwing it into the air. "Fennekin, GO!"

The Fox Pokémon emerged from the Poké Ball, barking kindly at its Trainer. Just then, one of the ashes in the air flew inside one of Fennekin's nostrils, and it instantly sneezed out a small sphere of flames, which then exploded and lit up the barren ground with small flames, causing Bonnie to scream.

"FIRE!" she shrieked, hugging Serena's leg tightly. "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

"It's okay, Bonnie, that's too small of a fire," replied Serena, smiling and stroking Bonnie's hair. "It'll go out soon."

Indeed, it only took several seconds for the flames, too tiny to sustain themselves for any longer, to flicker out and die, reducing themselves into wisps of silver smoke. Fennekin trotted to Serena's side and sat down, patiently awaiting its first command for the day.

"Alright, Fennekin," Serena said, "we're gonna find Ash and Clemont. If any Pokémon attack us, I want you to protect us. Okay?"

Fennekin barked in agreement. Serena nodded before wandering across the barren area with Bonnie in tow and Fennekin trotting beside them.

Serena began to think about what had happened to Ash and Clemont. Obviously, she and Bonnie were separated from them during the chaos of fleeing from the fire. Hopefully they weren't hurt during the escape. If so, they were obviously gonna start searching for the two of them as well.

They passed a tree.

Serena looked up at the sky, remembering that Ash would be more than likely to send out his Fletchling to search for them. However, she only saw fluttering ashes.

They passed another tree.

Her eyes followed one piece of ash without any particular reason, watching it twirl and spin in the air, like some graceful ballerina.

They passed another tree.

She lost sight of the ash, which was obscured by the tangled, barren branches of the trees.

They passed several trees.

Her surroundings became darker than usual, and she realized that they must be going deeper and deeper into the forest. She felt Bonnie's grip on her hand tighten.

They passed more trees.

Serena looked up, and in a moment that lasted for only a split-second, she felt her heart skip a couple of beats. In that exact moment, she thought that the trees were alive, the arms that were their branches reaching towards her with nasty, eerie, sickening creaks, ready to claim her and Bonnie as their next victims. She remembered reading about the Elder Tree Pokémon, Trevenant, recently. The artwork of them was really frightening that it haunted her dreams for many weeks since...

They passed even more trees.

She could imagine these trees turning into Trevenant and grabbing her, eating her alive, granting her a torturous death...

"Serena, watch out!" Bonnie screamed.

However, it was too late: Serena, distracted by her heightening fear, bumped into a tree and fell to the ground. She looked up and screamed: for several seconds, she saw a Trevenant towering over her, growling at her. Instinctively, she curled up into a fetal position on the ground as her last resort, her hat falling off in the process.

"GO AWAY, TREVENANT!" she screeched. "YOU DON'T SCARE ME!"

"What're you talking about, Serena?!" asked Bonnie. "Serena, you're scaring me!"

Fennekin barked its Trainer as it ran up to her side in concern. When Serena refused to unlock her current position, the Fox Pokémon shot a small Ember attack, which hit Serena's hair and instantly exploded, showering the honey-colored strands with embers. The Trainer's attention was instantly caught; screaming in horror, Serena stood up and began quickly swatting at her hair to put out any potential flames. Once she was successful, her hair was comically unkempt, with tufts sticking out and wisps of smoke issuing from underneath. She blinked and glanced at Bonnie and Fennekin, both of whom were staring at her.

"Serena, are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

Serena stared at the younger girl, then sighed heavily and slowly sat down against the tree she bumped into.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "It's just...my fear of forests just got to me."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you were afraid of forests." Bonnie flashed a small smile. "Don't worry; Fennekin's here to protect us, isn't it?"

Fennekin barked in agreement. Serena looked at her starter Pokémon and, noticing its unwavering demeanor of confidence, nodded back at it, smiling.

"You're right," she said. "I'm sorry. I just- I just panicked, that's all." Her smile widened as she stared at Bonnie. "Thanks for reminding me that, Bonnie."

"You're welcome, Serena. Now come on, we gotta find Ash and Clemont."

"Right." Serena stood up, took Bonnie's hand again, and walked across the lifeless landscape, with Fennekin trotting beside them.

As they did so, Serena began to feel a pang of worry well up within her. Without Ash around to energize her self-confidence, she didn't know what to do, now that she was stranded in the middle of her worst fear, its terrifying qualities now amplified by the devastating effects of the wildfire. Looking at Bonnie, she knew that she was lucky she actually had someone other than Fennekin with her, otherwise she would be mentally dead by now.

_"Oh, I just hope that I find Ash soon, 'cause otherwise, only Arceus knows what's gonna happen to me and Bonnie in the middle of this forest..."_

She shuddered, just by thinking about the consequences.

* * *

"How in Arceus's name did that fire start, anyway?!" screamed Floyd as he and Adam successfully evaded the wildfire by leaping into a river.

"Does it look like I KNOW, Floyd?!" Adam snarled. He then began slamming his arms into the water in a fit of rage. "DAMN IT! If only I had a Water-type Pokémon in my team, then we wouldn't be sitting here in this Arceus-damned river like a bunch of Ducklett! Of all the...DAMN IT!"

"I wish we had the jeep..."

"Well, you can thank Nick for that later-" Adam suddenly blinked as a realization struck his mind. He furiously slammed his fists into the water again, showering himself and Floyd with water. " **ARCEUS-DAMN IT** , NICK! It was the damn fire on the jeep! Nick crashed it into a tree, and BOOM! WE HAVE A WILDFIRE!" He clenched his fist in fury. "Oh, when I find that accursed Nick, I'm gonna tear him apart, without mercy! I'LL TEAR HIM LIMB FROM **LIMB**!"

" **WATCH OUT!** " screeched Floyd. Both of them dove into the water and swam further down the river, just seconds before a burning tree collapsed on the spot the two had been previously standing at. After a couple of minutes spent swimming, Adam and Floyd rose back to the surface, gasping for breaths of fresh air.

"Oh, I'll kill that Nick if we get outta this deathtrap alive, that is!" Adam growled.

Then, he noticed that the entire landscape surrounding them was no longer ablaze; instead, it was displaying the handiwork of the wildfire in all of its horrifying glory. However, he dismissed the bleak lifelessness of the area and merely stepped out of the river, quickly and methodically calculating a new strategy to use for the current situation. He was followed by Floyd, who, to the contrary, looked extremely concerned about the absence of life.

"Oh my _Arceus_..." he moaned in horror.

"I know, our situation looks bad, now shut up," snapped Adam. "I'm thinking."

"Boss, are you seeing all of this destruction?"

"Does it look like I give a Tauros?"

"But-"

"SHUT UP! I said I'm thinking!" He ignored Floyd's sad and horrified expression as he laid out his new plan. Adam smiled devilishly and stared at his accomplice. "Okay, new plan. Now that we're being hindered by this fire that we started, we're gonna have to use it to our advantage. This fire is wiping out all of the plants and clearing out all of the Pokémon that live here, right? Well then, no wildlife means no obstacles that will confuse or further hinder us in our quest to get outta this forest. So, we just explore the landscape and look for a safe route outta here and back to civilization! I'll contact Nick and Lloyd..."

As Adam procured his walkie-talked and established his connection with Nick and Lloyd, Floyd sadly glanced over his shoulder and gasped.

He could see two people heading towards them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adam's quite a calculating psychopath with no regard for life, I must say. What does that mean for our heroes? And who do you think are the two people heading towards him and Floyd? Their accomplices? Serena and Bonnie? Ash and Clemont? The next chapter shall tell all! And Serena's not-so-little fear of forests will obviously develop more as the story progresses, so expect more of angsty scenes with her having to deal with her current predicament!
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	3. Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

Serena tightly held Bonnie's hand in her own as the two girls, plus Fennekin, continued to trek across the barren landscape. For what seemed to be almost an hour, all they could ever see were the trees, all bent over to the sides, their branches stretching out like outstretched arms. From afar, the trees resembled helpless, swaying, mindless ghosts, still haunted and trapped by the horrible circumstances of their predicaments and subsequent deaths.

The Trainer looked around nervously, surveying one tree as she passed it. There were hollowed-out holes in the trunk, which were arranged in a way that resembled a human face, screaming out helplessly. Taken aback by the strange phenomena, Serena quickly looked away. However, she found it extremely hard to ignore the other trees. It seemed as if they were all _looking_ at the wayward trio, waiting for a perfect moment to take advantage of their vulnerability and strike...

It was one thing to be afraid of forests while they were still active and bustling with life through their green leaves and plant-life. But to be afraid of forests while they were in a desolate, barren, lifeless state was a completely different thing. In fact, it was worse. Serena began to miss the familiar, welcoming shades of green...

"All of the trees look so _sad_..." Bonnie said out loud. "Serena?"

"Y-Yes, Bonnie?" replied Serena, struggling to keep her fear at bay.

"Do you think trees have feelings too? Or is it just the Trenevant that have them? You know, the Pokémon that looks like a tree? Trenevant?"

"Trevenant," Serena corrected. "I think everything has feelings, including plants."

"I hope they didn't get hurt that much by the fire... I feel sorry for them."

"I'm sorry for them too."

The next several minutes were spent with more disheartening silence, save for the soft whispers brought by the small breeze. The two girls continued walking quietly across the devastated ruins of the forest, with Fennekin leading the way, trotting along and occasionally sniffing the air for anything nearby.

"Dede?..."

Serena glanced at the satchel Bonnie was carrying and saw that the little girl's faithful Dedenne had stuck its head out, rubbing its eyes. She remembered that the tiny Antenna Pokémon had drifted off into a peaceful slumber just a few hours earlier, and it surprised her to know that the little thing was able to sleep through the entire chaos of running away from the wildfire. Looking at Bonnie, Serena felt that she was thinking the exact same thing.

Then, once it was finished rubbing its eyes with its paws, Dedenne surveyed its surroundings before scrambling out of the satchel, up Bonnie's left arm, and onto her shoulder, looking around curiously. It was obviously wondering why its surroundings suddenly looked so bleak.

"Are you okay, Dedenne?" Bonnie asked, petting the Antenna Pokémon.

"Dede..." cooed Dedenne as it continued to survey its environment. Then, it looked at Serena for several seconds before looking around, almost frantically.

As if she knew what it was thinking, Bonnie replied, "We got separated from Clemont, Ash, and Pikachu."

"Dede?" Dedenne was taken aback by the revelation, and it continued looking around in search for its missing friends.

"It's okay, Dedenne," piped Bonnie, stroking the Antenna Pokémon's head, slowly calming it down until it began to coo. Bonnie then took Dedenne in her arms, and the two continued walking. Dedenne began to cower in Bonnie's arms as it registered the ghastly skeletons that were the burnt-out trees, something that Serena noticed.

 _"At least I'm not the only one who's afraid of forests..."_ she thought.

Then, Serena exhaled calmly and looked directly ahead at the thick blanket of dark smoke. She hoped that Ash and Clemont were both still alive and well. She couldn't even bear to think what would happen if they...they...he... No, she couldn't think about it! She just couldn't! No, she had to keep hoping for the best!

_"Never give up until the end!"_

The six words replayed themselves within the forefront of Serena's mind like a broken record player. She subconsciously nodded in agreement with those words. Never give up until the end. That's _exactly_ what she was gonna do. She was gonna find Ash and Clemont, both safe and sound, even if it was the last thing she'd do!

"Serena?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, Bonnie?" replied Serena, looking down at the younger girl, who was staring ahead intently.

"Is that Clemont and Ash?"

Serena noticed that, ahead, there were two dark silhouettes, barely visible from the dark smoke. Both appeared to be masculine in nature...

"I think that _is_ them!" she exclaimed in response. Both girls laughed in relief as they burst into sprint towards the two silhouettes, Fennekin trailing close behind them.

Caught up in her excitement, Serena began to think about what she'd do once she and Bonnie caught up to Ash and Clemont. She did not want to seem too dramatic, otherwise that'd be very awkward for her and Ash. She initially contemplated on giving Ash a hug, but then, she knew that'd already be awkward. Maybe she could say to them, "Oh, I was so sorry about you guys!" ...Yes, that is what she would do. Just be neutral, she kept thinking to herself. Do not give Ash any attention that would warrant any sort of curiosity from the others. No need to be overly dramatic and romantic, right?

The two girls dashed through the blanket of smoke, and they both shielded their eyes, noses, and mouths from the foul odor and the potentially dangerous ashes that would be fluttering around in the air. As they continued running, they heard one of the two silhouettes speaking...and the voice sounded... _older_...

"...Obstacles that will confuse or further hinder us in our quest to get outta this forest," the rough, stern, deep voice was saying, sounding a bit strangely pleased at something. "So, we just explore the landscape and look for a safe route outta here and back to civilization! I'll contact Nick and Lloyd..."

That was when Serena and Bonnie stopped in their tracks.

The smoke had cleared well enough for them to see the physical features of the silhouettes that they were running towards. The both of them were fully-grown men; one was tall and thin, with gray eyes and a crop of short blue hair; the other had neatly-combed, wavy green hair with golden streaks and also yellow eyes that were glinting in a way that perturbed Serena for some strange reason. The man with green hair was already pulling out a walkie-talking, which was crackling with static.

The blue-haired man was looking at _them_.

"What the?!" he exclaimed. "What're _you_ kids doing in the middle of this forest? There's a wildfire going about!"

"Yeah, we know!" replied Serena. "We were traveling with our friends and got separated from them while trying to run away from the fire. I'm Serena!"

"And I'm Bonnie!" Bonnie added. She then gestured to Dedenne. "And this is Dedenne!"

"Dedenne!" chirped the Antenna Pokémon, while Fennekin barked in a welcoming tone.

"DAMN RECEPTION!" screamed the green-haired man as he furiously flailed his arm around in the air, trying to get a signal for the walkie-talkie he was holding. "Floyd, come on! We gotta keep moving; I need to find a place where this forsaken static won't keep plaguing the walkie-talkie!"

"Sure thing, boss," the blue-haired man replied. However, he looked at the two girls, then asked, "Wait a minute, what about these kids?"

"Who?" The green-haired man flicked his head at Serena and Bonnie, and his eyes narrowed at them menacingly. "Leave them, they're obviously done for!"

"WHAT?!" Serena shrieked. "We're obviously not done for! Bonnie and I are trying to find our friends! Did either of you see 'em, by any chance?"

"What do those guys look like?" asked the blue-haired man.

"One of them has spiky black hair, wears a hat, and has a Pikachu on his shoulder-"

"-And the other wears these workman clothes and glasses, and also has yellow hair, like mine!" interrupted Bonnie.

"Well," snarled the green-haired man nastily, "we were too busy running for our lives to notice anyone who looks like the people you just described." He growled and looked at the blue-haired man. "Come on, Floyd, we have to find Nick and Lloyd before the fire catches up to us and fries us good!"

"But we can't just leave these kids here to fend for themselves, Adam!" Floyd protested.

"Well, like the saying goes, it's every man for himself!"

"Excuse me!" Bonnie exclaimed, a pouting expression forming on her face as she stomped over to the man named Adam. "You're saying that 'cause we're _girls_ , huh?!"

"Dede!" Dedenne added angrily.

Adam looked down at Bonnie and smirked nastily. "Personally, I couldn't care _less_ if I was dealing with a boy OR a girl." He looked up at Floyd and barked angrily and impatiently, "Floyd, come ON, don't just stand there like a damn idiot! I need to contact Nick and Lloyd!"

"Yes, Adam..." Floyd replied sullenly as he followed Adam into the smoke.

However, Bonnie, refusing to be treated that way, followed the two men. Serena gasped in concern and ran to catch up with her, just as she started speaking again.

"Well, we're both looking for someone, so why don't we look together?" the little girl suggested, although Serena registered force in her tone.

"Floyd, can you get this brat OUTTA HERE?!" demanded Adam as he continued waving the crackling walkie-talkie around in the air.

"Don't you tell me what to do, mister!" Bonnie exclaimed furiously as Floyd turned around to face her. "I'll tell Dedenne to attack you if I have to! But Serena and I can't find our friends, and if you two are gonna be the only other people around here, then we'll just go with you guys, instead of having to deal with the scary trees!"

"You're a persistent one, aren't you?" Adam asked, still waving the walkie-talkie.

At that point, Serena caught up to Bonnie and watched as Floyd stopped in his tracks. He looked at the two girls pitifully, surveying them both. Then, he smiled warmly.

Looking at Adam, he then leaned forwards towards the two of them and whispered, "You two can tag along. I'm pretty sure we can help each other."

"But what about-?" Serena began.

"I'll deal with Adam," replied Floyd. Then, he ran up to Adam, prompting him to stop, and began whispering something in his ear as Serena and Bonnie both watched. It took a few minutes when Adam nodded, seemingly reluctantly, and glanced at the two girls, obviously trying to hold back his annoyance and anger.

" _Fine_ ," he snapped. "You two girls can tag along. Just...Just DON'T interfere with whatever I'm doing, alright? Simple directions! Now come on, let's move!"

"Thank you very much!" exclaimed Bonnie angrily as she followed the two men. Serena and Fennekin stayed behind for a few seconds before following suit.

For some reason, Serena couldn't help but feel that there was something _off_ with these two men...

* * *

The next couple of hours were spent in awkward silence. Adam spent this time waving his arm around, trying to get a signal for his crackling walkie-talkie. Floyd quietly walked a couple of inches behind him, his hands in his pockets as he looked around nervously. Bonnie tried several times to get Adam or Floyd's attentions, only to be met with failure in the form of them either ignoring her or merely smiling at her and nothing more. As for Serena, she was now carrying Fennekin in her arms, continuing to think about what had happened to Ash and Clemont, if they were okay or not, and if they were actively searching for them just like she and Bonnie were.

Finally, Bonnie exclaimed, "Why are you two so _quiet_?!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" screeched Adam, turning around to face the young girl, staring directly at her eyes with his own as they glinted with menace. "I SWEAR TO THE ALMIGHTY ARCEUS THAT IF YOU DON'T KEEP YOUR TRAP SHUT, OR EVEN TRY AND DO SOMETHING TO CATCH MY ATTENTION, I'LL THROW YA IN THE RIVER AND LEAVE YOU TO THE HUNGRY POKEMON! SO SHUT UP, ALRIGHT?! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, **SHUT UP**! DON'T MAKE ME REGRET BRINGING YOU TWO ALONG!"

Then, he continued marching, grumbling to himself furiously as he left behind a shocked Bonnie, who stood still, seemingly paralyzed. Serena stopped alongside Bonnie and saw that her eyes were welling up with tears that she was trying her hardest to suppress.

"Oh, Bonnie, don't cry!" Serena exclaimed as Bonnie suddenly hugged her and began crying into her skirt. "It's okay!"

"He was so _mean_..." sobbed Bonnie. "I just wanted to _talk_..."

"I don't recommend talking to Adam." Serena looked up and saw Floyd looking at them. "He's not the type of person who tolerates having their buttons pushed."

"You could've warned us about that, you know," the Trainer replied angrily as Bonnie continued to cry.

"Sorry." Floyd walked up to Bonnie, knelt down, and patted her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I apologize if Adam scared you like that."

"Your friend is _mean_..." Bonnie said as she stopped crying and started sniffling.

"Hey, that's Adam for ya. Come on, let's keep walking."

The three resumed walking, following Adam into the smoke. As they did, they began talking actively.

"So...what are you guys doing in this forest?" asked Serena.

"We were...we were, uh...researching," replied Floyd. "Yeah, that's what we were doing. Researching!"

"What do you research?"

"Um...uh, um...uh...um, um...uh... _uhhhhh_..." replied Floyd.

"You don't know what you were researching?" Bonnie asked.

"Not really. I don't have the brightest mind. Hey, uh, Adam?" Adam flicked his head at Floyd, a look of annoyance on his face. "What were we researching again?"

Adam gave him a curious expression, but then replied within a few seconds, "We were researching on the migration patterns of the forest Pokémon, what else?"

"Thanks, Adam, I knew I could count on you and your sharp mind!" Floyd then faced Serena and Bonnie, smiling widely. "Yeah, migration patterns, that's what we were studying. In fact, we were observing a flock of Flying-type Pokémon flying around when the fire suddenly came in. My brother Lloyd and our friend Nick were observing from another location a couple of miles away, and I think the fire separated us even further."

"So, your brother is out there too?" asked Bonnie, sniffling as she wiped the last of her tears away. "Mine too."

"Really? What's the guy's name?"

"Clemont."

"Clemont, huh? I'll be sure to keep that in mind in case we meet up with Nick and Lloyd. They might have seen them somehow." Floyd then started scratching his head. "How about your other friend? The one with the spiky black hair, the hat, and the Pikachu on his shoulder? What's his name?"

"His name's Ash," replied Serena.

"Ash. Alright, I'll keep that in mind too. Wait, what're your names, girls? Just to be clear."

"I'm Serena, and she's Bonnie. These are our Pokémon, my Fennekin and her Dedenne."

Fennekin barked, while Dedenne chirped. However, Floyd was examining Serena curiously, a finger on his chin.

"Serena, huh?" he asked. Then, he shrugged and said, "That's a nice name."

"Oh, thanks."

The three continued following Adam in silence as the green-haired man continued waving his walkie-talkie around, only to receive more crackling. Other than that, the only noises that were being made were Adam's frustrated grumbling as he continued to march across the barren forest floor, kicking up small clouds of dust with each step he took. All of the silence gave Serena enough time to delve into her own private thoughts again.

Now that she had more company, it was more comfortable to wander around in the desolate forest. It wasn't Ash and Clemont, but it was good enough. Glancing over her shoulder to look at Bonnie, who was now holding Dedenne in her arms protectively, just as she was with her Fennekin, she began to wonder what would happen if they still can't find Ash and Clemont by the end of the day. Would they have to leave the forest and find civilization, which was more than qualified to find the two of them? What would happen when Clemont and Bonnie's parents find out that their son is missing in the middle of a forest that was devastated by a wildfire?

What would Ash's parents think when they found that their son was missing? Would they blame her for losing track of their son?

What would happen when Ash and Clemont were found...?

Serena shook her head. _"No!"_ she exclaimed within the confines of her mind. _"I've gotta stop_ thinking _about that, I gotta! Never give up until the end! I WILL find them the both of them, safe and sound! I can't afford to lose my friend, not after all of the things he's done for me..."_

**_"Friends."_ **

_"What?"_

**_"_ Friends _, Serena. You said 'friend' before, not 'friends'. I feel bad for Clemont; he doesn't get any attention from you."_**

_"I do give him attention! Great, I'm talking to my own brain again."_

**_"Well, I'm the only friend you've got who'll listen to everything you've got to say. Who else would be reliable for that job?"_ **

_"..."_

**_"That's right. I'm right, I'm always right. Now, what's your problem?"_ **

_"Problem?"_

**_"You obviously have a big problem, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me, your own brain, now would you?"_ **

_"Darn right I have a problem. Me and Bonnie got separated from Ash and Clemont, and now we're trying to find them."_

**_"And you're worried that they might be-"_ **

_"Don't say that! It makes things worse!"_

**_"If you insist. Now, how do you think you're gonna be able to find Ash and Clemont? Hm? Tell me, enlighten me."_ **

_"I don't know. I am just gonna follow these two guys around the forest and help them find their friends. Who knows? Maybe their friends have seen Ash or Clemont, or better yet, they might have them with them at the time! They look friendly, anyway. ...Well, Floyd, that is."_

**_"Do you really trust those guys?"_ **

_"They are the only people around here. And besides, they obviously wanna get outta this forest as much as Bonnie and I want to. And that Adam person has a walkie-talkie. If he somehow manages to contact his friends, or even civilization, he could get help and they'll rescue us, and also Ash and Clemont! I'm gonna have to rely on them for now."_

**_"If you insist. But remember, you cannot just rely on others to help you. Sometimes, you need to learn how to stand up on your own."_ **

_"Great. Apparently, my brain is a philosopher."_

**_"...You're welcome. Just don't come crying to me when this blows up in your face, Serena. 'Cause I'm gonna be busy having a workout at the time."_ **

Serena sighed and looked at Floyd, noticing for a split-second that he seemed to be looking away from her. Blinking, the girl turned away as well, starting to regret her decision to follow the two strangers. She knew that there was something wrong about this, despite Floyd's warm, welcoming mannerisms. However, Bonnie seemed to enjoy Floyd's company greatly, as did Dedenne, so Serena felt that it might be all right after all. She hoped she was right in the latter assumption.

She didn't want to know what would happen if she was indeed wrong.

* * *

A couple of hours passed, and the group saw nothing but the skeletons of the tree trunks. No other signs of life were present anywhere. The smoke was thick on both the ground and the sky. At that point of time, Serena, Bonnie, and Floyd decided to pass the time by talking about each other's lives.

"And then, Nick just gets thrown off the Rhyhorn like a doll and lands on the pile of poop a few feet away!" exclaimed Floyd as the trio held back their laughter.

Serena couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out in uncontrollable laughter, while a giggling Bonnie cringed.

"Ew, he landed in the poop!" the little girl exclaimed.

"Dede!" Dedenne cried in agreement, sticking out its tongue as emphasis.

"Serves him right!" said Serena. "He wasn't being one with the Rhyhorn!"

"I know, right?!" replied Floyd. "That's what the other jockeys were warning him about! I even warned him about it, but did he listen? Arceus, no! He just hops on and does random stuff just to provoke an action from the Rhyhorn! Nick always had that thick skull; it's hard for him to listen to proper directions!"

"I never knew you guys did Rhyhorn Racing as a hobby! That's so cool; my mom was a great Rhyhorn Racer!"

"Yeah, that was very fun." Floyd smiled widely as he looked off into the distance and started to reminisce. "I honestly loved the rush of adrenaline whenever I hopped onto a Rhyhorn and got it to run. That's what mattered the most. Not the victories, just the sights of the world passing by you in a blur, the blast of fresh wind that is always blowing in your face, the feeling of freedom... You know, my dream has always been to jump onto a Rhyhorn and just race around Kalos for Arceus knows how long. No purpose, no motivation. Just...to be _free_ from everything, you know. To savor that feeling..."

"How come you never do that?" Serena asked curiously. "Hop on a Rhyhorn and race around Kalos?" When Floyd looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face, she added, "Well, judging from what you've told us about your research, it sounds very... _boring_. No offense."

"None taken." Floyd smiled slightly and shrugged. "I don't know why I haven't done that yet, really. I guess it's because I feel... _tethered_ by our research..." He glanced at Adam, almost subconsciously. "Besides, Adam's become so devoted to his, uh, research, and we gotta help him. Just because he's smart doesn't mean he's also got the brawn to carry out his project all by himself. He needs help, assistance...backup, you might as well say."

"Adam should understand. You said all four of you did Rhyhorn Racing as a hobby."

"He would've understood." A strange expression flooded Floyd's face. "Had it not been for a particular experience that caused us to stop taking racing up as a hobby."

"Why, what happened?" Bonnie asked, an eyebrow raised.

Floyd merely shook his head and replied, "If Adam found out that I told you, he'd have my head."

"We won't tell Adam." Bonnie smiled widely. "It's our little secret!"

Floyd shook his head again, with more force this time. "I would rather not tell you. It was my experience too, and I definitely do not want that story to come to light." He sighed heavily and looked up at the smoky sky. "Sorry girls, if that disappoints you both."

"It's okay, Floyd," replied Serena. "I guess it's your secret; it should be respected. Otherwise it's not really a secret."

"Yeah." Floyd smiled slightly and shrugged. "Everyone's got their little secret, am I right?"

At that moment, Serena began to think of something. Everyone's got their little secret... Did that include Ash, perhaps?...

Suddenly, she heard Bonnie begin sniffing the air rather emphatically.

"Something smells bad," she said.

At first, Serena was confused by Bonnie's announcement, but then, her nostrils were filling up with that familiar odor of wood burning, and she could feel a heightening surge of heat prickling at her skin. She looked around frantically, but couldn't see any flames raging nearby...and yet, it smelled as if the fire was close...

"I smell it too," replied Floyd. He looked ahead, where Adam was still waving the walkie-talkie around. "Hey, Adam! I smell something burning!"

"Yeah, lovely, you smell a nice barbecue," Adam snarled sarcastically, ignoring his companion. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to find some damn reception."

"No, it's not a barbecue! I'm hungry, but it's not a barbecue I'm smelling! I think it's the fire-"

"Does it look like I smell any-" Adam suddenly froze in his tracks and started sniffing the air. "Scratch that, I smell it too. But I don't see any damn fire nearby!"

"You think we should turn back?"

"We don't even know where the fire is, idiot. Wanna walk straight into the fire? Be my guest! But I'm gonna walk on ahead!"

Adam marched forward into the blanket of smoke. Floyd prepared to follow when Serena grabbed his arm angrily.

"You're gonna _follow_ him?!" she cried. "After all the treatment he gives to you?"

Floyd looked at Serena and nodded, his lips pursed. "Adam may not be the kindest person, but he has the sharpest mind out of all of us. Without him, I'd probably be Kalos Fried Human right about now. I'm gonna follow him, but if you two don't want to do the same, be my guests."

The blue-haired man then went on ahead into the smoke, leaving Serena and Bonnie behind. Serena briefly contemplated on going her separate way with Bonnie, but she remembered Adam's comment that the fire could be anywhere and she could potentially walk straight into it...

"What're we gonna do, Serena?" Bonnie asked, looking up at the Trainer.

"We still follow them," replied Serena. "They may not be the best company right now, but they'll have to do. At least they haven't tried to hurt us yet."

* * *

Once Adam and Floyd were at a considerable distance from the two girls, the former twirled around and faced his companion, a suspicious expression on his face.

"This had better be worth it, Floyd!" he snapped. "You were always the one with the lamest of ideas!"

"Come on, boss, this is my best idea ever!" replied Floyd defensively. "Once we find Nick and Lloyd and get outta this forest, we'll have the best hostages anyone can ever ask for! They'll do whatever we say! ...Hey, I got it! They can probably distract clerks while we rob the cash registers at Poké Marts, how about that?"

Adam continued to stare at Floyd with a disturbingly blank expression.

"Huh, boss? It's really clever! They'll be useful for our robberies! We won't have a fiasco like this ever again!"

Adam sighed heavily. "That sounds like a creatively-"

"I know, right?!"

"-flaw-assed idea." The green-haired man shook his head in disapproval. "I guess it can work, but if that blows up in our faces, I'll know who to look at. Huh?"

Floyd nodded. "Yes, boss." He looked back and saw Serena and Bonnie approaching, to which he whispered to Adam, "Besides, it's not gonna be that long now. Very soon, we're gonna score ourselves enough money to reestablish ourselves and our reputations! Isn't that right?"

A smirk suddenly crawled upon Adam's lips, and he chuckled maliciously as he stared at the approaching Serena and Bonnie.

"Yes," he replied. "Yes, that's right..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Serena and Bonnie have been "captured" by Adam and Floyd, whom they don't know are enemies! And the threat of the fire is still existent, and very real.
> 
> What shall happen next? Stay tuned!
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this heavily delayed chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	4. Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

Serena adjusted her hat as she continued walking alongside Bonnie and Floyd, sighing while doing so. Feeling much safer with Floyd and Adam, she had decided a few minutes ago to recall Fennekin back in its Poké Ball. She then watched Bonnie and Floyd as the two continued talking. The Trainer noticed that Bonnie seemed to really enjoy Floyd's company; she was skipping alongside the older man happily, like he was her father or something.

"So, what's it like to study Pokémon, Floyd?" the little girl asked. "Do you see lots of cool and cute Pokémon every day?"

"Oh yeah, lots," replied Floyd, though there was a strange tone present in his voice, something that Serena noticed. "Lots of new Pokémon, each and every day."

"What kinds of Pokémon?"

Floyd suddenly looked a little nervous. "Does it look like I memorized every type of Pokémon I come across during my, uh, research?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Do you even remember at least _one_ Pokémon that you've met?"

Then, a soft smile crept upon Floyd's face as he replied, "I remember meeting a Rhyhorn a couple of weeks ago, as clear as day. Actually raced on it, if you must know."

"You raced on a _wild_ Rhyhorn?" Serena asked suddenly, awestruck.

"Huh?" Floyd looked towards Serena and then shook his head. "Oh, actually, not really. During our research, the four of us came across a racetrack in a small town. At the time, it was hosting Rhyhorn Racing. I thought I'd bring back that old nostalgia for feeling free while riding a Rhyhorn, so I entered in the race." He quickly glanced at Adam, who was still busy trying to get reception for his walkie-talkie, and then he added in a soft whisper, "Don't tell Adam I mentioned that to you guys, okay? Only Nick and I participate in the race without his and Floyd's knowledge, and if Adam found out that I was slacking off during our research, he'd have my head for sure."

"Your secret is safe with us, Floyd," whispered Bonnie, smiling widely and innocently.

Floyd smiled in relief and ruffled Bonnie's light-blonde hair, causing her to giggle. "Thanks." He then glanced at Serena, an eyebrow raised. "So, Serena, you mentioned to me that your mom was quite a Rhyhorn Racer in her time. Planning on following in your mother's footsteps, perhaps?"

"Huh?" Serena returned Floyd's smile, but shook her head in response. "No, I don't wanna do that. While I think it looks fun, I feel like something else is waiting for me. I don't know what it is right now, but I have a good feeling that I'll find that out sooner or later." Her smile widened. "And I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a fun ride."

Floyd looked a little confused at Serena's response and stopped walking. Then, he suddenly burst out in a joyous chuckle, which surprised Serena and Bonnie.

"Ah, you know what, Serena?" he asked, struggling to hold back his laughter of joy and relief. "You remind me of someone I used to know very well."

Serena became intrigued. "Who? Who do I remind you of?"

"This guy who used to be part of our, uh, research team. His name was Jake. Pretty nice, laid-back kind of guy. Very patient with Adam's temper." He let out a laugh of immeasurable happiness and nostalgia. "When you said that you don't know what is waiting for you at this point of time, but that you know it'll be good, in an instant, I was reminded of Jake's attitude towards life. Always hope for the best and don't think about everyone else, because you're the only one in charge of your life. That's what he always said to me, and my Arceus, it was very helpful advice. It's helped me through the toughest of times..." Floyd let out a sigh of content. "Ah, that Jake..."

"Whatever happened to him?" Serena asked.

"Huh?"

"Whatever happened to Jake? You said he _used_ to be part of your research team. What happened to him?"

A dark expression suddenly clouded Floyd's face, but he replied calmly, "Oh, nothing. He just left. The guy felt that he had better stuff to do than research the migration patterns of forest Pokémon. I was kinda sad that he left, though. The guy put on quite an optimistic attitude over the group." Then, he smiled. "But I think he made the right choice in leaving. Always hope for the best and don't think about everyone else, because you're the only one in charge of your life!"

Serena raised an eyebrow in curiosity, then shrugged. "Wow, that's funny."

"What's funny? Jake's statement?"

"Well, yeah. No, it's not literally funny, I like it, it's very good! It's just that...my mom used to say that a lot to me in my childhood." Then, she scoffed and cast a glance into the smoky, barren wilderness. "Ironic. In recent years, she's been pushing me to train as a Rhyhorn Racer. She's confident I'll become one just like her." Serena let out a heavy sigh of confusion. "And yet, she allows me to travel with Ash and the others, saying that it's gonna be _good_ for me. What'd she mean by that?..."

"Maybe the advice returned to her memory, perhaps?" suggested Floyd, shrugging dismissively. "Either way, I am glad to hear your mother is letting you travel to find your own purpose. At least it's better than nothing...or training to become a Rhyhorn Racer against your will."

Serena shrugged as well. "I guess so..."

The three continued following Adam across the forest in silence. Finally, after another hour of aimless trekking, Adam stopped in his tracks and sat down on the ground as he let out a moan of frustration and defeat. Floyd ran up to him as fast as he could, followed closely by Serena and Bonnie.

"Adam, boss!" Floyd exclaimed. "What's wrong?!"

"What's _wrong_?" repeated Adam, a disturbing calmness in his voice. "I tell you what's wrong. WE'RE STUCK IN THIS DEATHTRAP OF A FOREST, THAT'S WHAT!" With a cry of fury, he threw the crackling walkie-talkie across the forest floor; it shattered into several pieces upon impact with a tree trunk. "WE ARE GONNA **DIE**! WE ARE GONNA DIE IN THIS STUPID FOREST! WHAT A WAY TO GO, HUH? WE DIE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS ARCEUS-DAMNED FOREST, WHILE A FIRE IS RAGING ABOUT! THIS IS **GREAT**!"

Adam growled before collapsing on the ground in defeat and slamming a fist on a clump of dead, burned grass. Floyd's eyes widened in fear and he stepped away.

"We're dead..." moaned Floyd. "If Adam doesn't know what to do, then...we're _dead_. We're dead! It's official; we're gonna DIE! Die in the middle of this forest! AGH!"

Floyd began running around the area in circles, his hands clutching tufts of his hair and tugging at them in desperation and terror. Realizing the severity of their newest situation, Bonnie clutched Serena's hand and tightened her grip on it, but the Trainer, watching the helplessness unfold, suddenly felt energized by a newfound surge of determination. She stomped her foot on the ground, catching the attentions of Bonnie, Floyd, and Adam.

"So that's it?!" she exclaimed angrily. "You guys are just gonna _give up_ when it all looks hopeless?!"

"Well... _yeah_ , Serena," replied Floyd. "Adam can't get any reception from the walkie-talkie, we haven't found any signs of life ever since we came across the wildfire, and to make matters worse, the wildfire's still raging, no doubt closing in on us! We can't even see if the fire's coming because of all this smoke hanging around here!"

"You speak as if it's given. But you know what? That doesn't mean you should instantly give up and accept death! Just keep fighting against the odds, because who in the world knows? You might find an opening, an opportunity at survival, and once you do, you can seize it! Never give up until the end!"

As she said the last sentence, Serena could've sworn she heard the voice of a younger Ash saying the exact same thing alongside her. However, she brushed it off the moment Floyd nodded at her in agreement and approached Adam, who was looking at Serena with a curious expression.

"She's right, boss," he said. "We mustn't give up now! We gotta find a way outta here, even if it looks grave."

"How, exactly?!" demanded Adam, unconvinced of Serena's confidence. "How are we supposed to find our way out of this forest?"

"Don't you have your Fearow? Maybe you can use it to observe the forest by air and point out the safest direction to take!"

Adam's eyes widened in surprise, and then, he smiled in triumph as he produced a Poké Ball from his pocket. "I just remembered, I have my _Fearow_!" he exclaimed, as if he had gotten the idea without any help. "I could use it to observe the forest by air and point out the safest direction for us to take! I'm glad I've thought of it! HA!"

Serena, Bonnie, and Floyd all sweat-dropped at Adam's refusal to give credit, but decided to ignore it as he threw the Poké Ball, unleashing the Beak Pokémon.

"Fearow, guide us out of the forest safely!" commanded Adam. "If you see Lloyd and Nick, or any other human for that matter, be sure to alert us!"

Fearow cawed at its Trainer before flying off eastward; the four followed them as it glided effortlessly along the air. Serena ran up to Floyd, annoyance on her face.

"You remembered that he had a _Flying-type Pokémon_ ," she said, "but failed to mention it _earlier_? D'you have any idea how much help that would've _served_ us earlier?"

Floyd shrugged apologetically. "Hey, Adam was busy waving that damn walkie-talkie around. It's not wise to interrupt him while he's in the middle of something. Trust me, girls, the consequences are gonna be terrible. I found out the hard way." He subconsciously rubbed his cheek as he continued walking.

Several minutes passed, all of them being spent in silence as the four continued to follow the Fearow, examining its every movement. Finally, Serena let out a loud and long yawn before looking at Floyd, who seemed to be thinking about something. Then, the young Trainer had an idea.

"Tell us a story about Jake," she piped.

Floyd glanced at Serena. "What?" he asked, a bit shocked at the request.

"Why don't you tell us a story about Jake?" replied Serena, smiling with curiosity. "To pass the time. It's obvious we're gonna be following that Fearow for hours."

"And I'm getting bored!" Bonnie exclaimed loudly. "Tell us a story about Jake, Floyd!"

"Dede!" Dedenne added.

With a hint of reluctance, Floyd took a nervous glance at Adam, who appeared occupied with following his Fearow. Then, after concluding that his superior wouldn't find out that he was talking about a potentially sensitive matter to the girls, he looked back at Serena and Bonnie, smiling with happiness and some sort of relief.

"Sure thing, girls," he replied. Floyd closed his eyes, obviously thinking about what kind of story about his old friend that he should tell the two girls that he befriended. Then, he opened his eyes, his smile wider, and he looked at Serena and Bonnie. "Okay, this little thing between us and Jake happened twenty years ago, way before your time, girls. That day can be considered one of the greatest moments of my life. See, all five of us were already acquainted _before_ we conducted our research..."

* * *

_**Twenty years ago** _

"Here we are, guys, the racetrack," announced Nick.

He suddenly stepped on the brake, causing his SUV to lurch to a stop in an empty space in the vehicle parking lot, nearly throwing his four passengers from their seats. All five of them were wearing racing suits, which were colored in different shades. Adam's suit was colored in dark-green with yellow stripes, Nick's was colored in light-brown with dark-brown stripes, Floyd's was colored blue with black stripes, Lloyd's was colored red with gray stripes, and Jake's was colored yellow with white stripes.

Adam began to retch, struggling to hold back the temptation to throw up. "You-" He retched. "You _idiot_! Stop parking the car like that!" He retched again.

**_"Before we started researching on forest Pokémon migration patterns, Rhyhorn Racing wasn't just a hobby of ours. We...we were actually Rhyhorn Racers."_ **

_**"You were actually Rhyhorn Racers?!"** _

"Sorry, boss," Nick replied fearfully.

"Don't you forget, Nick," snarled Adam, "I bought this car with _my_ money! All 3,000 dollars of it, damn it! If even the carpet gets ruined, then it's not my fault all of that money goes down the drain!" He then glanced out of the window from the passenger seat and smirked at the sight of the racetrack. "Come on, guys, let's do this."

"Gotcha, Adam," Jake replied.

The five young men all stepped out of the SUV and walked towards the stadium, carrying bags filled with their racing gear.

**_"That's right, Serena. We were legit Rhyhorn Racers. And good ones as well. ...Well, Adam was the great racer. We were just his lackeys, there to make him look better in the eyes of all the other racers. Anyway, we were participating in this one race in the Kanto region. It was another average day."_ **

"Best of luck out there, boss!" Nick exclaimed as the five men entered the Rhyhorn stables and picked out their respective Rhyhorn.

"Nick, you idiot," replied Adam, although he was smirking in satisfaction. "You know it's pointless to wish me the best of luck. Remember-" He gestured towards a shelf that was in the stable of his Rhyhorn, which boasted several golden trophies. "Nine-time winner of the racing season, remember? I don't need luck. Luck needs _me_."

_**"He won the final races of the racing season** _ **nine times _?"_**

"Yeah," Jake said sarcastically, "says the guy who _unintentionally_ tripped the racer ahead of him and caused a big pileup in the racetrack."

"Hey, he accidentally bumped into me!" exclaimed Adam as he looked at the other jockeys present in the stables.

**_"In a row, Serena. In a_ row _. That's how good he was. And man, he was really pushing for his tenth trophy."_**

"It's okay, man," Nick replied. "There's no one else in the stables; no need to pull off the cover-story again."

"Phew!"

"Actually, there's someone over there," piped Lloyd, snickering maliciously as he pointed toward a Rhyhorn stable that was located at a corner of the building. Standing there was a young woman wearing a purple racing suit and a leather cap and goggles that held all of her hair, obscuring it. She was feeding the Rhyhorn inside.

"Never seen her before," Adam remarked.

**_"Didn't care what happened to anyone else. See, what the press didn't know about him..."_ **

"I think I have," Floyd replied as he closely observed the woman. "Forgot the name, but RAN is saying that she's rising in the ranks of great Rhyhorn Racers, and quite fast too. Completely annihilated the racetracks in Hoenn. All of the reporters are saying that she's got a real shot at winning this season's final race."

"Well then, I can't take that lying down, now can I?"

Straightening out his racing suit, Adam picked up his bag and walked towards the woman, Lloyd following close behind. Floyd, Jake, and Nick all looked at each other, apprehensively sensing the events that were about to come. Even though Adam was meaning to emanate a charming and kind attitude, this behavior was technically the telltale signs of a predator about to close in on his prey. They knew he was going to intimidate this up-and-coming racer in his own special way.

**_"...Was how_ ruthless _and_ unforgiving _he could be towards his rivals..."_**

Adam cleared his throat, catching the female racer's attention. "Hello," he greeted, flashing her a toothy grin.

"Oh, hey," the racer replied dismissively as she focused on the Rhyhorn she was feeding. Floyd noticed that it was smaller than the others, like a runt in the litter.

"I haven't seen you around the racetracks before."

The racer glanced at Adam again, a smug expression etched on her face. "If you're gonna flirt with me, mister," she said in a rather flirtatious tone, "I am very flattered. But I'm afraid that's gonna have to wait until the race. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm feeding my Rhyhorn here."

**_"...Whether or not they posed a threat to him and his chances of winning."_ **

Adam laughed as the racer focused on her Rhyhorn again. "Oh, playing hard to get, eh? Well, unfortunately, as much as I'd wanna flirt with you, I am not here for that. If you hadn't noticed yet, missy, the name's Adam Glazing. Nine-time seasonal winner of Rhyhorn Racing, scoring for ten-time seasonal winner."

The racer's smile widened. "Yes, I've seen you on the Racing Action News channel. May the best racer win!"

"Yes. May the best racer win..."

Subtly, Adam reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of dust. Then, as the racer was reaching into the bag she had for more Rhyhorn food, Adam threw the dust into the Rhyhorn's eyes, causing it to let out a bellowing roar. The racer gasped upon seeing her Rhyhorn in pain.

"RHYHORN!" she screamed. Then, she glared at Adam. "WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"See, I said I was scoring for my tenth win," Adam replied, malice and sadism evident in his widening smirk. "Can't let anything, or _anyone_ , get in the way of my victory, 'cause when I score, I _score_." He looked at Nick and Lloyd. "Grab her, make sure she doesn't fight back. Floyd, take its saddle off and then set it loose."

Nick and Lloyd quickly seized the racer and held her back as Floyd cautiously approached the blinded Rhyhorn, who was violently swinging its head sideways, trying in vain to clear its eyes of the dust. Realizing what was going on, the racer began to struggle against the two men holding her, crying as she did so.

"STOP IT, STOP!" she screamed. "PLEASE, LET ME GET TO MY RHYHORN, IT'S HURT! PLEASE, LET ME GO!"

"Why should we?" replied Adam, still examining the pained Rhyhorn. "This is getting really interesting!"

"Come on, Adam!" Jake cried. "I have a bad feeling about that Rhyhorn! Just let her go and pull Floyd back! That Rhyhorn's gonna-"

" **ARGH**!"

The Rhyhorn suddenly stood up on its hind legs for a moment before stomping its front legs back down on the ground, causing Floyd to fall over in intimidation. He then scrambled away as the Rhyhorn started kicking away at the air violently with its legs, becoming scared by the searing pain in its eyes that was brought by the dust.

"BAH, COWARD!" Adam screamed at Floyd as he hid behind the taller man.

"What in the world am I supposed to do?!" exclaimed Floyd. "That Rhyhorn's going berserk! I think you used too much dust, Adam!"

As Nick and Lloyd began to step back from the agitated Rhyhorn, the racer broke free from their grip and ran up to the Rhyhorn, as did Jake. Finally sensing the gravity of the situation that he started, Adam immediately fled from the pen, followed by Nick and Lloyd. However, Floyd stayed behind as he watched Jake and the other racer slowly and cautiously approached the Rhyhorn, which had stopped kicking its limbs but was now looking around, its eyes almost closed, practically squinting.

"Rhyhorn?" the racer asked. "It's okay, Rhyhorn, the bad men are gone. It's okay, you don't have to be afraid anymore."

The Rhyhorn began to calm down, and now, it began to shrink in a corner. However, Jake continued to approach it.

"Listen, Rhyhorn," Jake said, "I really apologize about the behavior of my friends, that was so uncalled for them. Listen, I'll clean out the dust in your eyes." Floyd and the racer watched as he pulled out a towel and dumped it into a nearby bucket full of water. "Listen, I won't hurt you, I promise. I didn't try to do anything bad to you, so you don't have to worry about me." The Rhyhorn continued to back away into the corner, as if it sensed Jake coming towards it. "Come on, Rhyhorn, I don't bite."

Finally, Jake reached the Rhyhorn, patted its snout gently, and then started to clean its eyes with the wet towel. As he did, he stroked its head lovingly, and it began to calm down, until finally, it started to lick him gently as he continued to clean its eyes. Floyd couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Good boy..." Jake cooed as he continued cleaning the Rhyhorn's eyes.

* * *

_**Present day** _

"In the end, that day became one of the best days of my life," Floyd finished.

"Wow," said Serena. "Jake sounds really awesome. I wish I could've met him..."

However, Bonnie looked disturbed. "Can't believe you guys were _mean_ to that Rhyhorn!" she exclaimed.

"I regret doing that," Floyd replied. "...I regret ever helping Adam in intimidating his perceived enemies."

"Is that why you stopped becoming Rhyhorn Racers?" asked Serena. "Because you guys were banned from the races since you were bullying other racers?"

"No, those rules didn't exist at that time. No. Actually, I'm very surprised and disgusted that all they had at the time was just a simple 'Never do that again' lecture and a slap on the wrist!" He sighed. "It was a good thing the five of us decided to, uh, semi-retire from Rhyhorn Racing and just take it up as a hobby. Then, once we found our research, we just quit altogether. Had we stayed in the racing business, we'd probably be in jail. Adam was pretty ruthless in that time."

"Why did you hang out with Adam in the first place?"

"Well, I never really had any friends when I was a child. The only friend I had was my brother Lloyd, and man, his sense of humor was just sick. When Adam decided to induct us in his gang, I was glad that I at least had other people to interact with. Jake was a great guy, one that you can always turn to whenever you had a problem, and Nick knows how to make people laugh. Even though we got things done in bad ways, we were a pretty close-knit group." Floyd glanced at Adam and sighed. "But ever since Jake left us, Nick's become more loyal to Adam, and I feel alone, isolated in our gang. I am usually the one who has to deal with his flaring temper."

"Adam's not your friend if he keeps getting angry at you and making you do bad stuff!" Bonnie said. "You should stop being his friend!"

"If only. It's kinda complicated, Bonnie."

"No, it's not," Serena said. "You can be _our_ friend. We have our own little...gang. Me, Bonnie, Ash, Clemont, and their Pokémon! Why don't you come with us?"

Floyd's eyes widened in surprise at the request. "What?"

"Come travel with us! It'll be fun, trust me!"

"Are you sure Ash and Clemont won't mind?" asked Floyd.

"Definitely not! Ash is an especially caring person; he wouldn't wanna let you hang out with guys like Adam! He will treat you like no other person has ever treated you before!" Serena's smile grew even wider. "Trust me, Floyd, I know! He's a very, very compassionate person who never leaves a friend behind, and when someone has a problem that he or she feels can never be solved, he's always there to offer a solution, no matter what! He's an amazing, wonderful person!"

At this point, Serena's cheeks were blushing in a bright scarlet. Noticing this, Floyd smirked mischievously.

"So, it appears that Serena has a little crush..." he said.

Serena's eyes widened and she shouted defensively, "I don't have a crush on Ash!"

Floyd snickered and wagged a finger at her. "Don't deny it! Remember, denial is a great indicator-"

"I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON ASH!"

"SHUT UP, WILL YA?!" Adam roared. "You'll scare my Fearow, for Arceus's sake!"

"Sorry, Adam!" called Floyd. Then, he faced Serena, still smirking. "Okay then, Serena. Say something terrible about Ash."

"But...But if I do, you won't join us!"

"Just do it, and maybe I will."

"Okay. I'll say something bad about Ash." Serena prepared to say something that she hated about Ash; in fact, she had a lot of ideas. But, for some reason...she just couldn't say anything, as if her mouth was sewn shut. She merely looked up at Floyd as he smirked back at her, the triumph evident in his face. Finally...

"Knew it!" he exclaimed. "You have a crush on Ash!"

"Please, not in front of Bonnie..." moaned Serena, glancing at the little girl, only to find that she had fallen asleep while walking; her head was leaning on Serena's left wrist, drool forming at the corner of her lips. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she glanced back at Floyd.

"So, why do you have a crush on Ash, little Serena?" he asked tauntingly.

"He helped me out when I was a little kid. I hurt my knee while I was lost in a forest. Then, he arrived and bandaged it before leading me out of the forest. I was very impressed with his generosity, and when I started traveling with him, a few weeks ago, I began feeling these... _feelings_ for him. It didn't take me long to find out that...I loved Ash Ketchum." She flinched slightly at the words, as if she were cursing, but she continued. "But he doesn't know it, and I doubt he ever will." She let out a long sigh of sadness. "Sometimes, it makes me think if I should've just stayed home and continued practicing Rhyhorn Racing..."

"Excuse me?" Floyd asked, confused.

"Huh?"

"You just said you sometimes think about if you should've just stayed home, with your mom who makes you train for Rhyhorn Racing, which you clearly don't like. What in the world makes you think that? Sounds pretty hypocritical of your previous statements, if you ask me..."

"It's just...well, I just started traveling because I wanted to meet up with Ash. Prior to now, we only met once during that time in the forest, and I wanted to-"

"So, you just went out of the home to travel with him, because he saved you?" interrupted Floyd. "With no other intention in mind?"

"Not...Not really..." Serena replied, guilt in her voice.

Floyd raised an eyebrow. "Serena, judging by what you've told me about yourself," he said, "it seems like all of the decisions you're making are being made just for the benefit of others. You practice Rhyhorn Racing because your mother is making you, and now you left her wing to travel with Ash just because of a simple heroic act he committed for you, no matter how, uh, _non_ -simple it looked for you. Have you ever made a decision on something for the sake of yourself?"

Serena felt time slow down all around her as she began to think about Floyd's question. Now that she thought about it, she remembered that everything she had ever done was all due to another person's decision. Her mother had sent her to the Pokémon Summer Camp against her wishes. She was only able to get out of the forest because Ash was able to help her stand up and then guide her out. She had to practice Rhyhorn Racing because her mother felt that she would become a great racer just like she was. And now, she only decided to go on a Pokémon journey just to reunite with Ash, with no other intentions on her mind.

All of the decisions she ever made in her life were all because of her mother's direct influence, and now Ash's as well.

"No, not really..."

"Figures. You know, Serena, I think the only reason you don't know what's ahead of you for a goal is because _you_ didn't decide what you want to be in life. I know it's hard to find out what you can do and what you can't do, but now that I heard about this part of your story, I just want you to remember this: always hope for the best and don't think about everyone else, because you're the only one in charge of your life. No one can tell you what to do except for yourself, Serena, okay?"

_**"He's right, Serena."** _

"O-Okay..." replied Serena, nodding.

Floyd smiled. "Good." He then glanced at Adam and saw that he was still walking. "Now, let's keep going."

The three continued walking, Bonnie still asleep. As they continued on, Serena began to ponder over Floyd's advice.

She didn't notice that Floyd was looking at her, relieved that he was able to steer away from the subject of Serena asking him to join her and Bonnie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're starting to learn more about the past of Floyd and the others, while Serena is starting to think for herself with a little help from Floyd. Now, whatever shall happen next? Will Serena and Bonnie find Ash and Clemont? Or will Adam and Floyd find Lloyd and Nick and then take the girls as hostages? Stay tuned!
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	5. Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

_**Eighteen years ago** _

Adam was furious.

It was almost the end of this year's Rhyhorn Racing season, and all of the racing networks were no longer talking about him and how he had yet another shot at winning. No, they were all talking about that racer he met during the previous racing season. The one he tried to blind her Rhyhorn with a handful of dust.

Grace Yates.

Adam never found himself in a tighter corner than this. Last season, she usurped his rightful title as the consecutive ten-time winner of the sport, and to make matters even worse, this was her first season _ever_. He had been beaten, no, defeated by a complete _amateur_. Who was a woman, for Arceus's sake! When he watched as the officials handed her the golden, shining trophy that was supposed to be his, he felt like he was going to scream out to the heavens.

And now, he was facing off against her in the current racing season, and she had a greater chance at winning the trophy again, over him. Adam reminisced to each and every humiliating defeat he suffered at Grace's hands. How the audience cheered for her instead of him. How the horror of losing in the most unlikely of circumstances bit him in the back with the power and force of an Aggron. How he had to keep watching and clapping as she received the racing trophies...

He had lost to her more than she lost to him. It was too much for him to bear. And for some reason, she was able to overcome each and every method that he employed to incapacitate her Rhyhorn in some way. She was able to ignore the intimidation tactics he tried to use on her.

Grace was going to win this year's racing season, and Adam couldn't accept that. He needed to get the competition out of the way.

"Boss?" a voice asked, interrupting Adam's musings.

"Not now, Nick," snapped Adam in response. "I'm thinking."

The stout man warily approached Adam and said, "But boss, it's important. It's about Jake."

Adam didn't look up at his accomplice. "What about him?" he asked gruffly.

"Floyd just told us something pretty _interesting_ about what he's been doing for the past couple of seasons."

Adam's attention was suddenly piqued. "Why? What's he been doing?"

Nick glanced towards the door of the private study the two of them were currently in. Adam could hear Jake greeting Floyd outside; the door was open.

"Can't say it out loud to you, man," Nick replied. "Jake's obviously here now."

"Just whisper it to me then, idiot," snapped Adam.

Nick quickly leaned forward and whispered something into Adam's ear. His eyes promptly widened, and his lower jaw slowly slid open. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. If what Floyd was claiming about Jake was true (which was more than likely, since he had been assigned to survey his activities for quite an amount of time), then that could actually pose as a great advantage for his chances of winning this year's racing season...

A malevolent grin slowly spread across Adam's lips, and he looked at Nick.

"What're you thinking about, boss?" the short, stout man asked.

"How we could use this to our advantage," replied Adam as he stood up. "Come, Nick. Let's give Jake a little talk, shall we?"

Though he didn't like his superior's tone, Nick merely followed Adam as the two left the private study. Adam was cracking his knuckles menacingly...

* * *

_**Present day** _

Hours passed, and Adam's Fearow still hadn't found any signs of life nearby. At this point, most of the smoke from the wildfire had cleared from the air, and the sun was already setting as darkness and cold temperatures began to set in. Bonnie had already woken up from her sleepwalking, and now, she was worriedly looking around at the forest, increasingly intimidated by the looming darkness, which seemed to amplify the creature-like aspects of the lifeless tree trunks.

"Serena, I'm scared," Bonnie moaned. "We still haven't found Ash and Clemont, or Floyd and Adam's friends, and it's already becoming nighttime..."

"It's okay, Bonnie," replied Serena, trying her best to smile confidently. "We'll find them soon."

"How soon?"

"Pretty soon." However, Serena knew that was a lie, just like all of the other lies she told Bonnie for the past couple of hours to keep the younger girl calm. She glanced ahead at Adam, who was still looking up at the sky, watching as his Fearow glided across the sky. She couldn't help but feel a little suspicious of him...

Several more minutes passed, and darkness was already beginning to have total reign of the forest, something all four began to notice.

"Boss?" called Floyd. "I think we should hold off the search. It's getting dark."

"Agreed," replied Adam. "Fearow!"

The Beak Pokémon swooped down and landed on a nearby tree branch, to which Adam promptly returned it back into its Poké Ball. Then, he looked around at his surroundings, closely and carefully scrutinizing them as Floyd, Serena, and Bonnie approached him.

"Okay, if there's one good thing the fire did for us," he said, "it's leave us a bunch of materials to use to start a little campfire. Okay, you two girls-" He pointed at Serena and Bonnie. "-you stay here and set up camp. Floyd, you come with me. We're gonna find sticks and twigs that we can use for the fire."

"You're gonna leave us here _alone_?" Serena asked worriedly.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "You've got your Pokémon with you, don't you?"

"Yes, but..." Serena's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How can I be sure to trust you? You two might just ditch us!"

Adam prepared to respond to Serena's accusation, but Floyd stepped between the two of them, smiling brightly as he produced a Poké Ball.

"Don't worry, Serena," he said. "I'm gonna leave one of my Pokémon here with you guys, and Adam will do the same thing. That way, we'll have to come back for them." He glanced at Adam, who appeared shocked and surprised at the idea. "What do you say, Adam? Sound like a good idea?"

"I...I...I don't know..."

"Come on, Adam. If we're gonna survive in this forest, we're probably gonna need to earn their trust, and vice-versa."

Adam looked from Floyd to Serena and Bonnie. Then, he looked back at Floyd, his eyes glinting strangely, and he put on a solid smile.

"Yeah, fine..." he replied as he reluctantly took out a Poké Ball.

Floyd threw his Poké Ball, shouting, "Come on out, Carbink!"

The Poké Ball unleashed a rock-like, limbless Pokémon with a white fluffy collar encircling its head and light-blue crystals adorning its body.

"Go, Delphox!" cried Adam as he threw his own Poké Ball, unleashing a bipedal fox-like Pokémon holding a flaming twig in its paw.

"Carbink and Delphox, huh?" Intrigued, Serena took out her Pokédex and scanned the two Pokémon.

 _ **"Carbink, the Jewel** **Pokémon,"**_ explained the robotic voice of the Pokédex when she aimed the device towards Carbink. _**"It was born due to temperatures and pressures occurring underground, and it has the ability to fire beams from the jewel on its head."**_

"AW, that Carbink is so CUTE!" exclaimed Bonnie, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the Jewel Pokémon, which pranced around in delight of the praise.

Serena then aimed her Pokédex at Delphox, which appeared to be very wary of Serena. _**"Delphox, the Fox Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Braixen, and the final evolved form of Fennekin. It is said to see into the future when it stares into the flame burning on the tip of its twig."**_

"Delphox, the final evolved form of Fennekin..." Serena whispered in awe as she surveyed Adam's Delphox, easily imagining her own Fennekin evolving into an astounding Pokémon such as that. Then, she decided to reach into her pocket, taking out her Fennekin's Poké Ball and throwing it into the air. "Go, Fennekin!"

The Fox Pokémon emerged from its Poké Ball, barking at its Trainer in greeting. Then, it spotted Delphox and trotted over to it, intrigued by the taller Pokémon. Looking down at Fennekin, the Delphox suddenly smirked and barked aggressively at it, forcing Fennekin to sprint away and hide behind Serena's leg in fear.

"Fennekin?" asked Serena. Then, she glanced at Delphox worriedly as it continued to smirk.

"Don't mind Adam's Delphox," Floyd piped. "It's not really fond to other people's Pokémon. Just give it its own space and it'll leave your Fennekin alone."

"Okay..." However, Serena continued to look at Delphox nervously, as did Bonnie.

Floyd nodded at the two girls, then left alongside Adam, both men wandering into the darkness of the forest. Serena and Bonnie looked at each other.

"Serena?" asked Bonnie.

"Yes, Bonnie?" Serena replied.

"Do...Do you know how to set up camp?"

"Not...not really..." Serena glanced at the direction where Floyd and Adam disappeared at.

* * *

Floyd and Adam continued to make their way past the trees, picking up any large branches and twigs that were lying on the ashy ground. Finally, once the two of them covered a considerable distance from Serena and Bonnie, Adam suddenly dropped his branches and angrily grabbed the collar of Floyd's shirt, violently slamming him against the nearest tree trunk, causing him to drop his own branches in surprise.

"WHOA, MAN!" Floyd screamed. "WHAT THE **HELL**?!"

"What's up with you and those girls?" snarled Adam as he pointed at him accusingly. "I don't like how close you are to them..."

The tone of Floyd's voice was defensive. "Well, I gotta have their trust if they're gonna be our cooperative hostages! Isn't that what you wanted, Adam?"

"No, it's what _you_ wanted. I just agreed to that damn stupid idea of yours because I had no other choice. But I could easily see how _attached_ you are to those two girls, especially that older girl with the pink hat." Adam leaned in towards Floyd's face, a menacing, deathly look in his eyes that signified blood-lust. "What in Arceus's name is going on here, man? Why are you allowing those two foolish girls to come with us?"

"They...They...They, uh...They..." stuttered Floyd fearfully.

"Don't just stand there, sputtering the same word over and over again," Adam snarled. "Just. Spit. It. OUT."

"I was just thinking about Jake, that's all!"

Adam crossed his arms, a frown on his face. "Damn it, Floyd, how many times do I have to tell you this crap? It. Was. For. The _best_."

"It's definitely not for the best in my eyes!" exclaimed Floyd. "Jake was my friend, man! I can never get his face out of my head! Every time I close my eyes and go to sleep, I always see him! Arceus-damn it, Adam, why did we have to do that?! We could've just set him up for something, but no! We had to-"

"I couldn't take any chances," Adam interrupted nastily. "He would have sold us out, no matter what. You know how it was. We would be rotting in a jail cell for Arceus knows how long, instead of here, living free in the middle of this forest! I'd take that over prison!"

"Well, I'd take prison over having to live with what we did."

"You're pushing your luck, Floyd, and my buttons. You really think you're gonna turn yourself in for everything we've done?"

Floyd opened his mouth to retort, but then, he closed it, unsure of what to say. He looked down at the ground sheepishly as Adam smirked triumphantly.

"Yeah, I thought so." Adam then bent down to pick up his sticks and twigs. "Now, pick up your stuff. We gotta get back to our Pokémon."

As they picked up the branches, Floyd muttered, "I guess I know why you wanted Serena and Bonnie to 'set up camp'..."

* * *

_**A couple of hours later** _

Wearing her pajamas, Serena glared into the small fire that was burning before her, having been started by Adam's Delphox hours before. The flames seemed to lick at the air like the tongues of snakes. Then, she glanced at Bonnie and Dedenne, both of whom were already sleeping in the former's sleeping bag. Then, she looked at Floyd and Adam, both of whom had fallen fast asleep while warming themselves by the fire. She then sighed and looked back at the fire.

"Oh, Ash..." she whispered. "Where are you? I hope you're okay..."

Ash's imaginary voice reverberated around in her head, replying, _**"I'm fine, Serena. Don't worry, we'll find each other soon."**_

"Hopefully it's soon. I don't know if I can handle being in this forest without you, Ash..."

_**"Just hang in there, Serena. Remember what I told you: never give up till the end!"** _

"That's right. Never give up till the end." Serena's lips curved into a tiny smile. "How in the world are you so encouraging?"

_**"Well, you're my friend. Of course I gotta encourage you!"** _

Serena exhaled sadly. "Yeah. I'm your friend. And you're...my friend too..."

_**"Why? What's wrong, Serena? You don't sound happy to be my friend."** _

"It's just...I wanna be _more_ than just a friend."

_**"You wanna be a best friend?"** _

"...Yeah. I'd like to be your best friend..." Then, Serena closed her eyes and buried her face in her palms. "This isn't _working_... _None_ of this is working..."

Serena then looked up at the starry sky, the whole of its beauty unhindered due to an absence of clouds. A crescent moon shone across the night sky, its light illuminating the part of the forest that encompassed the camp. She closed her eyes again, allowing herself to soak in the moonlight. As she did, Serena began to wonder if Ash was somewhere else in the forest, doing the exact same thing she was doing, wondering if she was okay...

She suddenly felt as if she was being _watched_...

Serena instinctively looked into the darkness of the forest. At first, she didn't see anything in the pitch-black.

Then...she saw them. Two X-shaped markings, glowing a bright blood-red in the darkness, watching her as if they were eyes... She heard an inhuman snarl...

Serena let out a bloodcurdling scream, waking up both Bonnie, Dedenne, Floyd, and Adam.

"What, what?!" exclaimed Floyd. "What's going on, Serena?!"

"T-Th-Tho-Those th-things...o-over th-th-there..." stuttered Serena, pointing towards the direction where she saw the X-shaped markings, only to find that the strange eyes were no longer there. All she saw was the pitch-black darkness. In relief, she let out a long, heavy sigh.

"What things, Serena?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Serena replied. "I guess I was just seeing stuff..."

"Arceus-damn it," grumbled Adam as he laid back down in his sleeping bag. "Damn girl, quit wasting my precious sleep-time..."

Bonnie and Dedenne also resumed their sleep, but Floyd remained awake, looking at Serena with concern as the Trainer continued to stare into the darkness.

"Are you okay, Serena?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," replied Serena.

"Did...Did you even sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah I have," Serena lied sleekly.

"If you say so, Serena."

Serena watched Floyd prepare to go back to sleep. Then, she glanced back at the darkness, staring at the direction where she saw the markings, wondering if they would reappear. However, all she saw was the gaping jaws of darkness. The Trainer sighed, concluding that she must have been seeing things.

Then, she began to wonder what would happen to her if the four of them still couldn't find Ash, Clemont, or Floyd and Adam's friends, should such a misfortune cast its shadow upon them. Would they have to find a way out of the forest by themselves? Serena could not even begin to imagine how in Arceus's name she would survive in the middle of her greatest fear, brought to even more terrifying heights thanks to the wildfire that devastated it.

Serena began to thank Arceus that she had Bonnie and Floyd with her for company...

Floyd...

She glanced at Floyd again, and saw that his eyes were still open, looking up at the nighttime sky, his pupils glittering from the reflections of the stars. At that moment, Serena remembered something that she wanted to ask him before he went to sleep, so she decided to take advantage of this moment.

"Floyd?" she asked.

Floyd sat up on his sleeping bag. "Yeah, Serena?" he replied.

"Why are you being so concerned about me and Bonnie?"

"I...I don't understand..."

"You seem more than willing to follow Adam's orders, but when Bonnie and I came across you two, you instantly pressed for us to come with you guys, despite Adam not liking us." She raised an eyebrow. "And...I notice that you're very interested in me in particular. You keep looking at me strangely. Why?"

Floyd blinked, unsure of what to say. Then, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"You...You really remind me of Jake..." he said.

Serena was taken aback by the response. "I...I _do_?..."

"Yeah. Not just by your behavior, but..." Floyd scrutinized Serena. "...You've got his hair. Smooth, golden, a bit curly at some edges..."

"Oh. That's great to hear, I guess..."

"I'm sorry if I spooked you by giving strange stares at you like that."

"Well, now that I know why you're always looking at me, I guess it's okay..."

However, Floyd continued to examine Serena curiously. "It's actually funny, really. I remember Jake once telling me that if he had..."

His voice suddenly trailed off, and he looked away from Serena, piquing her attention.

"Why?" she asked curiously. "What'd Jake tell you?"

"Nothing, nothing," replied Floyd quickly. "I'll just, uh, go to sleep. Night."

"G-Good night..." Serena said, confused at Floyd's current behavior. The Trainer watched as the blue-haired man laid down in his sleeping bag and fell asleep. As he did, she couldn't help but feel even more intrigued by this Jake character. Apparently, there was something about him Floyd didn't want her to know...

* * *

_**The following morning** _

Once again, Adam's Fearow was leading the way, flying high in the air while Serena, Bonnie, Floyd, and Adam continued to follow the Beak Pokémon from down below on the ground. As they continued walking up a hill, they noticed that there was now plant-life beginning to grow, adorning the lifeless, barren ground. It took the four several minutes to reach the top of the hill. Adam was the first one to reach it, and once he did, he stopped walking.

Down the steep hill was the parts of the forest that weren't damaged by the wildfire, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was a series of gray clouds, rising from the trees in a consecutive pattern. A satisfied, triumphant smirk emerged on Adam's lips, as he knew what that strange smoke meant.

"Why is that smoke doing that?"

Adam looked down and saw that Bonnie had stopped by his side, and the little girl was now watching the column of smoke.

A smiling Floyd joined Bonnie's side, replying modestly, "It's a type of survival tactic we all taught ourselves a couple of years ago, in case we were separated. We set a fire somewhere, allow some of that smoke to rise up in the air, and then block all of that smoke with some sort of drape once enough of it is in the air. Then, after a couple of minutes, we release that drape to let more smoke rise into the air. We keep repeating the process over and over again until the others come to rescue us." He scrutinized the smoke. "It's definitely our self-taught method. Nick and Lloyd are in that part of the forest, waiting, signalling us."

"YAY!" Bonnie exclaimed, just as Serena reached the group. "We found your friends, Floyd!"

"Dede!" Dedenne added, smiling happily.

"Yeah, yeah we did..." However, despite Floyd's smile, the tone of his voice was reluctant, something that Serena noticed. "Well, let's get to them, shall we?"

The four then began to descend the hill. However, Bonnie looked visibly tired. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she let out a groan of exhaustion.

"Serena..." whined Bonnie. "I'm _so_ tired of walking... Can we stop?"

"Dede?" Dedenne added in agreement.

"We can't stop," snapped Adam. "We need to find help. I am really surprised we haven't seen any traces of people that were fighting the fire..."

Bonnie stomped her foot rebelliously. "But I'm tired!"

"But we can't stop!" Adam whined, jeeringly mimicking Bonnie's voice.

"Come on, Adam," said Floyd defensively, "let's just stop. I'm tired as well."

Adam rolled his eyes, sighed angrily, and then shrugged. "Alright, we'll stop. But only for five minutes! Then we begin walking again."

Bonnie let out a sigh of relief as she laid herself down on the ground, while Serena and Floyd sat down. Adam began pacing around them impatiently, starting to regret allowing that little girl to rest. He needed to find Nick and Lloyd so then the four of them could overpower the two girls and use them as their captives as Floyd suggested. He did find some benefit in the idea, no matter how dim-witted Floyd was. Besides, he could just claim that the idea was his own.

As he continued to pace around, the corner of his eye suddenly caught movement. Adam looked across his right shoulder and instantly saw, at a considerable distance, two people making their way up the exact same hill that he and the others were descending; they seemed to be following a Fletchling that was flying close to the ground. At first, he thought that those two were Nick and Lloyd, but then, he noticed a Pikachu perched on the shoulder of one of the strangers.

A... _Pikachu_...

_**"One of them has spiky black hair, wears a hat, and has a Pikachu on his shoulder..."** _

Adam further scrutinized the person with the Pikachu on his shoulder. He was a young teenager with spiky jet-black hair, wearing a red hat with a white brim. The person walking behind that boy, apparently with some difficulty, had yellow hair that matched that of the little girl's and was wearing pale-blue clothes that made him resemble an electrician, as well as a backpack and a pair of large and circular glasses...

_**"And the other wears these workman clothes and glasses, and has yellow hair, like mine!"** _

It was the girls' friends, the ones they called Ash and Clemont.

"Aw, _hell_..." whispered Adam to himself. Then, he faced Serena and Bonnie, making sure that his body blocked their friends from their view. "Alright, your time of resting is up! Chop chop, girls, we gotta get going!" He quickly and impatiently clapped his hands twice to emphasize his point.

"What?!" Bonnie exclaimed. "But I'm still so _tired_..."

"I gave you five minutes to rest, little girl," replied Adam impatiently, "and your five minutes are up. If you're still tired, you should have spent your five minutes much more efficiently." He grabbed Bonnie's arm and forced her up on her feet, much to her displeasure. "Now, let's _go_."

Bonnie glared at Adam scathingly, but then, she resumed walking, while Serena and Floyd stood up and followed her toward the forest.

Once Serena and Bonnie were a few feet away from him, Adam glanced at Ash and Clemont. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw them continuing their trek up the hill, still following the Fletchling. Then, the green-haired man ran off after Floyd, who was a few feet away from Serena and Bonnie.

Upon catching up to Floyd, Adam grabbed his arm, catching his attention.

"Why, what?" asked Floyd, confused.

"I just saw those girls' friends," Adam whispered to him in response, fleetingly looking at Serena and Bonnie to see if they were listening.

"You mean Ash and Clemont?"

"Yeah, whatever. Listen..." He looked at Serena and Bonnie again. "...Once we reach the forest, and Nick and Lloyd, we carry out the plan."

Floyd suddenly looked reluctant. "Wait, carry out the plan?"

"Yes, carry out the plan, idiot. Once we reach the forest and find Nick and Lloyd, we grab 'em, we threaten their lives, and make them do everything we say."

"But-"

"But what?" interrupted Adam. "There's no buts when we're stuck in the middle of the forest with few resources and a wildfire still somewhere out there! Now, we are gonna carry out the plan, whether you like it or not! For Arceus's sake, you were even the one to suggest it, Floyd, so I don't understand why you are being so ambivalent now." Adam's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. "Now, are you with me in on this, Floyd, or are you not?"

Floyd glanced at Serena and Bonnie, who were still walking ahead. His eyes softened, and then, he let out a heavy sigh of sadness and guilt.

Then, he faced Adam and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm in."

Adam nodded with approval. "Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was a shorter chapter than usual. But hey, it had a lot going on!
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	6. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

_**"Why so curious, Serena?"** _

_"Huh?"_

_**"The only thing that's on your mind is Floyd. A bit of a nice change from Ash, if I say so myself."** _

_"Wait, how'd you- Oh, wait..."_

_**"Did you seriously forget that this your** _ **brain _you're talking to?"_**

_"Oh, shut up. Like I need you."_

_**"Of course you need me. I control every single action, every single decision you make. I'm the only one you can truly rely on as a friend. I** _ **am** _**you."** _

_"What're you talking about? I've got other people I can rely on as friends."_

_**"People you don't fully understand. ...If I can recall, you just told every detail of your personal life to a complete stranger yesterday."** _

_"I think he can be trusted."_

**_"You keep saying that. But remember, you're talking to your own brain, which is suggesting that there is a chance that Floyd cannot be trusted. And besides, when you were thinking about Floyd today, you feel quite suspicious, Serena. Hypocrisy, much?"_ **

_"I just feel that there's something about his friend Jake that he's not telling me about."_

**_"And you still feel entitled to travel with him and his creepy friend? If you can't think for yourself, think for Bonnie. If Floyd and Adam do something that will endanger you both, and they succeed, do you think you'll be able to live with yourself if Bonnie gets it really hard? Huh? Tell me, Serena."_ **

_"If Floyd and Adam were planning on doing something to us, they could've just done it last night, when we were asleep and fully vulnerable. And did we see anything out of place, out of the ordinary this morning? No. No, we didn't. I agree that Adam's a bit strange and hostile, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with them."_

**_"What about Floyd's little secret about Jake? Does that count as something that's wrong with them?"_ **

_"I can't just pry into their personal lives-"_

**_"You've already done that, and you've also allowed them to pry inside your personal life. I swear to Arceus, Serena, you're so complicated. ...I_ _am so complicated. ..._ We're _so complicated. We trust other people to make all of the decisions for us, people that we don't understand very well, no matter how much we say we understand them. Floyd, Adam, even your mother, 'cause Arceus knows why she's been pressuring you to become a Rhyhorn Racer like her... Even Ash, Serena. You once thought about if everyone has a secret, and if that included Ash. Could it be a deep, dark secret?..."_  
**

_"Don't you say that! Ash has nothing to hide from me! What does he have to hide?!"_

**_"Exactly. That's the point of a secret. It makes you ask, 'What does he or she have to hide?' And guess what? You may or may not know the answer to that, and if you_ do _manage to find the answer, then trust me, chances are you may regret ever finding out."_**

_"Shut up."_

**_"I can't, Serena. I'm your brain, which will always be there for you to rely on for your own deep, dark secret. As long as you're alive, I'll be too."_ **

"SHUT UP!"

"Something wrong, Serena?"

Serena's eyes widened, and a blush of deep scarlet flooded her face as she faced Bonnie, Floyd, and Adam, all of whom were looking at her curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing!" she exclaimed, waving her hands around dismissively as she smiled innocently. "Come on, let's keep moving!"

* * *

As Serena and Bonnie continued onward, while Adam was focused on keeping track of the smoke Nick and Lloyd were making, Floyd let out a heavy sigh as he sadly looked up at the sky, its total beauty hindered by the large puffs of smoke. He began to reminisce about something that occurred twenty years ago...

* * *

_**Twenty years ago** _

"Are you sure about this, Jake?" asked Floyd, apprehensively walking alongside Jake as they strode into a small but bustling festival. "Considering what Adam did to nearly blind her Rhyhorn last month, that jockey's not gonna take you kindly as much as she does to him. We _are_ her rival's friends, after all..."

"Well, she doesn't consider me as much of a threat as she does to the rest of you guys," Jake replied. "Besides, this could be beneficial for Adam. If I get close to the racer that upstaged him last season, convince her that I'm a friend who's just in the middle ground here, then maybe I could probably learn some of the strategies she uses during the races. Then, I can come up with some good counter-strategies for Adam to use, and boom! He's on his way to victory again!"

"Sounds like a great idea, but that Grace chick's tough-as-nails, Jake. Did you see how she handled the race last week in Blackthorn City?! Totally annihilated all of the other jockeys and left them in her dust! And don't forget that little incident where Lloyd tried to have his way with her?" Floyd cringed at the memory. "I-I just don't think we really should be interfering with the likes of a tough racer like Grace Yates, Jake."

Jake smiled confidently. "You trust me, right Floyd?" he asked.

"Well... _yeah_ , but-"

"Then relax, and let me do my work."

Floyd could do nothing but stutter incoherently and watch helplessly as Jake made his way to a nearby cafeteria. There, he headed specifically towards a table that was already occupied by a woman with sleek brown hair and light-blue eyes, who was wearing a dark-blue shirt and gray shorts. He watched quietly and reluctantly behind a nearby food stand as Jake approached the woman and began to chat her up. To Floyd's relief, the woman was smiling widely.

"Oh, thank Arceus, Jake!" Floyd whispered to himself in relief. "The Arceus-damn bastard, he _did_ it..."

Then, he watched as Jake and the woman glanced at his direction, the latter giggling. To his horror, Jake was _gesturing_ him to come over.

Frantically, Floyd waved his hands around in disapproval. Jake sighed, stood up, and approached him.

"No WAY I'm gonna be a part of your damn plan, Jake!" whispered Floyd. "Not even if Arceus was dooming the world a billion times over!"

"Dude, this could be beneficial for you too," Jake replied as he walked behind Floyd and pushed him over towards the table.

"B-B-Beneficial for _me too_? What the hell do you mean by _that_ , Jake?!"

"I mean that you should probably take this advantage to loosen up!"

"I don't NEED loosening up, damn it, Jake!" Floyd flustered, his face turning red with embarrassment. "What I need right NOW is for you to let me go on my own way, and you just do whatever you need to do, and-" He suddenly noticed that he was drawing nearer towards the table; he could hear Jake quietly snickering in amusement. "A-An-And besides, Jake, you know very well I do NOT do so well with-with...with... _with_..."

"You don't do so well with what?" a voice asked.

Floyd had just noticed that he had now reached the table occupied by the same brown-haired woman. She was now looking up at him with her light-blue eyes.

"Uh..."

The single sound escaped Floyd's mouth, but otherwise, he was silent for several seconds.

Then, he let out a terrified scream, his voice cracking at that moment so he sounded like a little girl, and he blacked out within a split-second's notice.

* * *

_**Present day** _

And that was how Floyd met Grace Yates.

Ever since he first met her in person at the Rhyhorn stables, he initially decided to follow the lead of Adam, Lloyd, and Nick, treating her as a rival, no, as a big _threat_ to their goal. As a result, he was extremely puzzled as to why Jake was treating her with the least contempt, even giving her some pieces of advice and assisting her in training. But Jake reassured him that it was just a ploy to manipulate her, to gain her trust, something that Floyd found odd, since Adam should have known about that technique, and yet, Jake didn't seem all that willing to indulge the idea to his superior. However, Jake was his friend, so he trusted him.

In fact, he trusted him enough to join in on his idea, befriending Grace and giving her advice as well.

But, as the racing season progressed, Grace continued to win all of the trophies, and Adam continued to suffer losses. Floyd had been more puzzled than ever.

And yet...he didn't ask Jake about it. He could've, but he couldn't, since he never had the time. Jake was always busy spending more time with Grace for some reason, but Floyd had himself to blame as well: he, too, spent time with the two. The trio seemed to form a close-knit relationship. Floyd found himself standing directly on top of a blurred line that separated Grace from Adam, with one person to choose from. And he was torn.

Then, once the racing season ended with Grace claiming the victory, it immediately became crystal clear to Floyd: Jake had fallen in love with Grace, and, rather unfortunately, vice-versa. As soon as the next racing season began, the two of them were dating, with him as a third wheel in that little bicycle of theirs. And to make matters even worse, Jake, as a result of his relationship with Grace, relied on him to cover for him as he went out with her on their more private dates, to give Adam excuses behind his odd absences, despite the fact that Floyd had always been a terrible liar. But...Jake was his good friend, so he did it for him.

It worked for the entire racing season. But, when the season was drawing steadily to a close, he...he...

Floyd shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. He couldn't bear to think about what happened next in this downwards-spiraling tale. Sometimes, he wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut, for the sake of not only Jake, but Grace. Who knows? Maybe...

"YAY! We're almost there!"

Floyd glanced at Bonnie, who was hopping up and down excitedly as her Dedenne chirped in agreement. Serena herself looked extremely relieved. At this point of time, the group had finally ventured into the undamaged part of the forest, the sunlight being broken by the leaves and branches hanging overhead. It was now obvious that Lloyd and Nick were nearby, judging from the placement of the thick puffs of smoke...

He glanced worriedly at Adam, who resembled a predator ready to strike for the kill. Then, he glanced at Serena...who was looking back at him.

He saw Jake's face for a split-second... The look of horror at the betrayal etched on it...

"Are you okay, Floyd?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." replied Floyd reluctantly.

"Why are you being so worried? We're in the middle of a forest, and there's no fire anywhere in sight! Let's take this advantage to loosen up!"

_**"I mean that you should probably take this advantage to loosen up!"** _

"Arceus-damn it..." Floyd muttered inaudibly to himself.

"Fletchling!"

From up above, the four watched as a Fletchling swooped in from the air, chirping in greeting. Once it was overhead of the group, the Tiny Robin Pokémon then circled directly above their heads for a few seconds before settling down on Serena's pink hat, chirping excitedly at Dedenne, which smiled and greeted it.

"That Fletchling..." Bonnie said.

"Is it..." began Serena. Then, her eyes began to glimmer, and she gasped in happiness and shock. "It's Ash's Fletchling!"

"Fletchling!" Fletchling chirped, nodding in response and taking flight, circling over Serena and Bonnie's heads.

"WHAT?!" Adam screamed suddenly. "THAT CAN'T BE **POSSIBLE**!"

"What's not possible?" asked Bonnie, looking at Adam.

Realizing that he nearly made a mistake, Adam quickly calculated a strategy to correct his near-flub. "Uh...I mean, I can see someone over there!" He pointed in a random direction towards the trees. "I think it could be Nick and Lloyd! Yeah, it's gotta be; the smoke's coming from there!"

"What, really?" Serena asked. "I thought the smoke was coming from over there."

The female Trainer pointed at the direction opposite to where Adam was pointing, where puffs of smoke were indeed continuing to rise over the treetops. Adam sweat-dropped, cleared his throat, and thrust his finger at the direction where Serena was pointing.

"Over there!" he shouted assertively. "The smoke was coming from over there! Let's go!"

"But if Fletchling's here, then that means Ash and Clemont are nearby! I think Bonnie and I should follow Fletchling..."

"What're you talking about?"

"I think it's time we went our separate ways. It's okay, guys; with Fletchling, we're good from here on out. Tell Nick and Lloyd we said hi, alright?"

"But you cannot leave now!" Adam shouted, quickly stepping in front of Serena and Bonnie before the two of them could leave. His arms were outstretched in a rather strange blocking manner. "You two girls don't wanna venture into the woods out on your lonesome, now don't you?"

"Alright, now this is really, really weird," said Bonnie, her arms crossed, a suspicious frown slowly forming on her face. Dedenne and Fletchling were also slowly becoming suspicious of Adam's intentions. "I thought you didn't want us around. And now, you don't want us to leave?"

"You could get lost in the forest!"

"We've got Fletchling to help us!"

"What if Fletchling gets lost?"

"It can't get lost. It can fly high up in the forest and find us a way to Clemont and Ash!"

"What if it breaks its wing?"

"Now how can it break its wing?"

"I don't know! Anything can happen in a massive forest such as this!"

"A lot of it was destroyed by the fire!"

"Which could be still out there!"

"Fletchling can guide us away from the fire!"

"What if Fletchling can't find its way away from the fire?"

"Didn't you ask something similar?"

"OH, WHATEVER!" Floyd produced his Poké Ball and threw it into the air. "DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Delphox emerged from its Poké Ball, barked, and twirled its wand-like twig, unleashing a beam of fire that hit Fletchling, knocking it out.

"FLETCHLING!" Serena and Bonnie screamed simultaneously.

"Enough of this foolish nonsense!" barked Adam. "Delphox, use Psychic!"

Delphox raised its twig, which glowed purple and caused Serena and Bonnie to levitate in the air, immobile, their outlines highlighted by a red aura. Floyd could only watch reluctantly as he watched the two girls scream and attempt to struggle against the telekinetic force binding them.

"WHAT'RE YOU **DOING**?!" shrieked Serena in horror.

"Setting you two incompetent morons up, what else?" Adam replied, snickering maliciously. "We never intended to accompany you while you searched for your miserable friends. No, we were gonna lead you back to our friends so we could hold you two hostage. Now, you will do everything we say, otherwise..." Adam then approached Fletchling's unconscious form and raised his foot, preparing to stomp on it. "...You'll be saying bye-bye to poor little Fletchling!"

"You **WOULDN'T**!" Serena screeched as Bonnie began to cry.

Adam merely smirked in triumph. "Wanna bet?"

He prepared to stomp his foot down on Fletchling's head when...

"Okay, okay, OKAY!" Serena closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "We'll...We'll come with you..."

Adam's smirk widened, his teeth becoming bare.

"Good girl..."

* * *

_**"Told you so."** _

_"Shut up."_

**_"You keep saying that, Serena, but remember, I'm_ always _gonna be right. I am your brain, after all."_**

_"..."_

**_"So, what're you gonna do?"_ **

_"What_ can _I do? Delphox's Psychic has me immobile, my only Pokémon is inside its Poké Ball, and only Arceus knows what's gonna happen once Adam and Floyd reach their friends. There's absolutely nothing that I can possibly do. ...You were right._ _..._ I _was right. I should have let myself make make my own decisions, instead of other people, people that I don't fully understand. Even if Floyd misled me, he was right in saying that I am the only one in charge of my life."_

**_"You're saying Floyd's right?"_ **

_"Yes, that's right."_

**_"Then_ be _the only one in charge of your life. Make your own decisions. Get yourself and Bonnie out of this mess."_  
**

_"But_ how _? How can I do anything if I can't move at all?"_

**_"You're the one in charge of your life. Put me to good use._ Think _, Serena. Think."_  
**

"Serena?"

Bonnie's voice stirred her from her mental conversation. Though she couldn't turn her head at all due to Delphox's Psychic, she could imagine the expression of terror etched in her face. She could remember the last time the two of them were in such a predicament: the less-than-villainous Team Rocket trio captured the both of them, along with Professor Sycamore, holding them captive in their private headquarters. They had to wait for Ash and Clemont to come to their rescue.

However, who knew were Ash and Clemont were right now? It was a vast forest, and Serena and Bonnie covered a lot of ground with Floyd and Adam...

"Serena?" Bonnie asked again, the fear more evident in her voice.

"Yes, Bonnie?" replied Serena.

"Are we gonna be okay?"

Serena hesitated for a moment. She knew one thing: Adam, Floyd, and their friends were definitely NOT Team Rocket.

"Yeah, we're gonna be okay."

"I wouldn't say that, girls," Adam said, sneering. "You're _not_ gonna be okay. Not for _a long time_..."

"You're a big meanie!" Bonnie snapped.

Adam sighed, shook his head disapprovingly, and gestured to Delphox. "Delphox? Teach that annoying little girl the grownup version of timeout."

Delphox nodded, a smile of sadism etched on its face, and then flicked its twig fleetingly. Bonnie's immobilized posture suddenly became tighter, and her torso was thrust out as she let out a drawn-out scream of pain and agony. Adam chuckled horribly, while Floyd looked away remorsefully. Serena, on the other hand, screamed as Bonnie continued to feel pain she never felt before, and she tried to struggle against Delphox's Psychic, but wasn't successful.

"STOP, STOP, **STOP**!" screeched Serena as Bonnie continued to scream and wail. "SHE'S JUST A LITTLE GIRL! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!"

"Yeah," Adam replied, a terrifying glint in his eye, "but that's what's fun about this whole thing. She _doesn't_ deserve this."

Serena's eyes widened in horror as she realized who she was dealing with: a psychopath. She closed her eyes, one of the few movements she was capable of.

"Please, just stop..." she pleaded helplessly.

"Adam, just stop it."

Serena opened her eyes and looked at Floyd, who was looking at Adam reluctantly.

"What, Floyd?" Adam asked, a disturbing calmness in his voice.

"We've wasted enough time with this," Floyd replied softly, seemingly regretting his outburst. "Let's just get back to Nick and Lloyd..."

Adam shrugged. "Fine. Yeah, I'll stop." He looked at Delphox and shook his head, prompting the Fox Pokémon to stop its torture on Bonnie. "Let's keep going."

As the group continued along, Serena glanced at Floyd, who was looking down at the ground reluctantly.

* * *

It took the group several more minutes to reach the source of the puffs of smoke. There, Serena and Bonnie spotted two men sitting by a fire with a handmade blanket of leaves. One of them was short and stout, with a chubby face sporting curly brown hair and a beard and mustache. The other looked rather identical to Floyd, except that he had red, stringy hair. Serena assumed that the short one was Nick, while the tall one was Floyd's brother Lloyd.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME!" screamed Adam as Nick and Lloyd spotted the approaching group. "Where the HELL were you guys?!"

"Obviously trying to run away from the fire, boss!" Nick replied. "What about _you_ guys, what were YOU doing?!"

"Oh, I know what they were doing..." Lloyd said, approaching Serena and Bonnie; both girls shivered when he licked his lips. "You lucky sons of-"

"They're hostages," interrupted Adam. "They were wandering around in the forest when they fire hit, and we came across them. Then, I decided that maybe if we gained their trust for long enough, then we'd have ourselves a couple of hostages that'll do anything and everything we say."

Floyd's head flicked towards Adam, and he opened his mouth, preparing to say something. However, he then closed it as quickly after a couple of seconds.

"They're hostages?" Nick asked as he surveyed Serena and Bonnie.

"Hostages that are at our every whim," Adam replied, crossing his arms as a smug expression filled his face.

"Sounds...promising enough."

"Damn right it is. After all, _I_ was the one who suggested the idea!" Adam's smugness seemed to grow with the boast.

"Actually, Adam-" began Floyd, irritated at his superior's refusal to give the credit to him.

Adam flicked his head at Floyd, a nasty expression plastered on his face. "Oh, shut up, Floyd. This is no time for your input on things. Well then, now that we've gotten ourselves back together, we gotta work to find a way back to civilization. Floyd and I didn't find anything that could help us. What about you two?"

"Now that you mention it," Nick said, "we found a road with a sign that said it led to Lumiose City yesterday. We still know where that road is."

"Good. Lead us there. And we're taking these two girls with us." Adam glanced at Serena and Bonnie, a nasty smile on his face. "But first..." He approached the fire that Nick and Lloyd made to signal their comrades, grabbed their handmade blanket of leaves, and dipped it into the flames, setting it ablaze. Then, with all of the strength he could muster, Adam threw it into the lively, bustling trees. "To make sure your _friends_ don't get on our trail, just in case."

Serena and Bonnie's eyes widened as the fire quickly spread across the trees that had been spared from the first wildfire. Pokémon that were nearby cried in terror and began scrambling away from the raging flames. Angrily, Serena glanced at Adam, trying her hardest to break free from the Psychic.

"How COULD you?!" she screamed. "There's innocent Pokémon that call this forest home! Haven't they suffered enough damage to their home?!"

"Apparently, not enough," sneered Adam. "Besides, it's not like I give a Rattata's ass about the wild Pokémon, like I didn't care when we started the first fire."

Both girls gasped, and Bonnie shouted, "YOU started that other fire?!"

"On accident," Nick piped.

"Yeah, it was all Nick's fault," added Lloyd.

"HEY!"

Lloyd merely snickered sadistically in response, while Adam approached Serena, who was closest to him.

"Whether or not it was on accident," he hissed menacingly, "it proved to be of a great benefit for us the first time, and it shall again."

Serena gritted her teeth, for she knew what 'benefit' Adam was talking about: her and Bonnie. She couldn't tolerate this madness any longer!

"LET US GO NOW!" she roared.

"Why should I? This is actually becoming quite fun for me!" Adam then raised an eyebrow as he surveyed both girls. "You know, it's not like I needed _two_ of you as hostages. One of you works _just_ as fine." A rather sadistic, inhuman grin formed on his face before he looked at Delphox. "Drop the little one into the fire."

"WHAT?!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"NO, DON'T!" screamed Serena desperately.

However, Delphox was already moving Bonnie towards the burning flames with its Psychic, albeit in a rather slow movement that Serena knew was intentional.

" **SERENA!** "

" **BONNIE!** "

"HELP ME!"

Serena could do nothing, not even turn her head to look at Bonnie so she could tell her it was going to be okay. She could only hear both Bonnie and Dedenne wail and scream fearfully as Adam cackled madly. Roaring out, the Trainer resumed her struggle against Delphox's Psychic. She mustn't give up! She MUSTN'T!

_**"Never give up till the end!"** _

"Never give up till the end!"

"What?" Adam asked, looking at Serena mockingly. "Still not giving up? Maybe you should."

"Never give up till the end!" Serena shouted again. "Never give up till the end! Never give up till the end!"

As she continued to struggle against the Psychic, Serena suddenly saw flashes of a younger Ash helping her up in the forest, racing across her mind at speeds that matched cars in a racetrack. He was there whenever she needed help the most: first at the forest near the summer camp, and now, when she wanted to escape from her mother's influence at home. Because of him, she was who she was right now. But...it came at a price...

Bonnie was going to die, and it was going to be her fault she couldn't protect her. She trusted people she didn't fully understand, and now, she was facing the horrible consequences of her stupidity. Then, Serena's mind became occupied with images of a grief-stricken Clemont...a horrified Bonnie, close to death...

"Never give up till the end, never give up till the end, never give up till the end!" the Trainer repeatedly shouted as she felt herself move considerably, despite the Psychic that was holding her back. "Never give up till the end, never give up till the end, never give up till the end!"

"What in Arceus's name?!" Adam shouted as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick looked on in shock. "Delphox, intensify your Psychic!"

"NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END, NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END, NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END!"

Using all of the strength she could muster, Serena reached for her pocket. Inside was the only hope for Bonnie's survival...

Suddenly, she felt the force of the Psychic become amplified. However, this didn't daunt her, and she continued to struggle. Memories of her entire life suddenly began to flash across her eyes... It all involved someone making a decision for her, usually her mother. She never knew her life was that influenced.

Then, her mind began to flash back to more recent memories, ones of her travels with Ash. Serena realized that during those times, she was making decisions of her own more often, and then, she remembered how everyone had always been encouraging towards her, confident that she will find herself a goal that will finally bring her out of her mother's shadow and become her own person. They all believed in that. Ash, Clemont, their Pokémon, Bonnie...

Bonnie...

" **NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END!** " Serena screeched as she grabbed her Poké Ball from her pocket and threw it in the air. "FENNEKIN, USE EMBER!"

Fennekin emerged from its Poké Ball and instantly shot a blanket of small orange sparks all over Delphox, catching it off-guard. Upon being covered by the huge blanket, Delphox flinched and lost control of its Psychic, causing both Serena and Bonnie to fall to the ground.

"SERENA!" Bonnie screamed.

Serena stood up and saw, to her horror, that Bonnie had been dropped too close to the fire. "BONNIE, RUN!" she shrieked.

The little girl stood up and prepared to run, but it was too late: a wall of new flames emerged and blocked her path, trapping her in an essential cage of fire.

"SERENA, HELP ME!"

"I'M COMING, BONNIE!"

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" Adam roared. "DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Serena twirled around and pointed at Delphox. "Fennekin, use Ember on Delphox again!"

Fennekin fired another Ember attack, but this time, Delphox was prepared for it. Smirking, the Fox Pokémon merely brushed away the shower of sparks with a single stroke of its left arm. Stepping beside his Pokémon, Adam chuckled nastily as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick joined his sides.

"It appears that your un-evolved Fennekin is coming up against its stronger evolution, foolish girl," he said. "So, what're you gonna do? Try and save your little friend at the risk of interference from my Delphox, or battle my Delphox and get it out of the way already at the potential cost of your friend's life?"

Serena's eyes widened upon realizing that Adam was right. If she tried to rescue Bonnie already without any proper supplies to counter the fire, then Delphox could just easily use a move to prevent her from being able to do so. If she tried to battle Delphox and get rid of that obstacle already, then it could be too late for Bonnie already, especially considering the fact that she has only Fennekin to use. Plus, there was also the fact of Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick participating...

Too late. Adam, Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick produced Poké Balls and threw them into the air, summoning Fearow, Carbink, Tyrantrum, and Hawlucha, respectively.

"To further add to the tension, our other Pokémon!" announced Adam. "So, what're you gonna do, Serena? Either way, your little friend _dies_..."

"NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT!" a familiar voice shouted loudly and determinedly.

Serena and Bonnie both gasped in relief as they watched Ash and Clemont run into the fray as fast as they could. With them were Pikachu, Fletchling, Froakie, Bunnelby, and Chespin, all of whom were ready and primed for battle. The seven joined Serena's sides as they all faced down the quartet and their Pokémon.

"Sorry we're a bit late, Serena," Ash said, looking at a smiling Serena. "Did you miss us?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn right we did, Ash! We damn well missed you and Clemont! And...oh, snap! It's gonna be a big boss brawl! Who's gonna win?
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	7. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

"So, what're you gonna do, Serena?" Adam asked. "Either way, your little friend _dies_..."

"NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT!" a familiar voice shouted loudly and determinedly.

Serena and Bonnie both gasped in relief as they watched Ash and Clemont run into the fray as fast as they could. With them were Pikachu, Fletchling, Froakie, Bunnelby, and Chespin, all of whom were ready and primed for battle. The seven joined Serena's sides as they all face down the quartet and their Pokémon.

"Sorry we're a bit late, Serena," Ash said, looking at a smiling Serena. "Did you miss us?"

"Ash..." Serena whispered, relieved beyond belief. "Clemont..."

"WHAT?!" screamed Adam. "You guys?! How in the world did you find us?!" Then, he watched as Ash's Fletchling landed on its Trainer's shoulder and chirped at him angrily. At that moment, his eyes widened as he came to a realization. "It was...that damn _Fletchling_... DAMN IT! I KNEW I should've killed it!"

"Nice going, boss," Lloyd whispered nastily.

"Froakie," Ash shouted, "use Water Pulse on that fire! Free Bonnie!"

Froakie nodded and leaped into the air, preparing to fire the Water-type attack. However, Adam grinned and pointed at Froakie.

"Oh no, you don't!" he snarled. "Delphox, use Psyshock on that Froakie!"

"Chespin, use Pin Missile on Delphox!" Clemont commanded.

The three spikes on Chespin's head stiffened and then began to glow a bright white before firing a barrage of glowing white spikes with light-green streams of energy trailing from them at the opponent. The Pin Missile attack successfully hit Delphox before it could fire its Psyshock, causing a tremendous explosion that violently threw the villainous quartet and their Pokémon backward, causing them to crash painfully into the depths of the forest. At that point, Froakie was able to unleash its Water Pulse and put out the wall of flames that was barring Bonnie from reaching the others.

"Clemont!" shrieked Bonnie as she embraced her older brother in a tight hug.

"Bonnie, I was so worried about you!" Clemont exclaimed in response, returning his sister's hug. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Clemont, I'm okay."

"I wouldn't say you're okay," a voice snarled.

The group watched as Adam, Floyd, Lloyd, Nick, and their Pokémon stood up from the ground, Adam looking extremely agitated. Nick pointed at the group.

"Hawlucha, use Wing Attack!" he ordered.

"Fletchling, counter with Steel Wing!" Ash ordered, pointing at Hawlucha.

Fletchling's wings glowed a metal-gray color, and it flew at Hawlucha, whose wings had become wider and were now glowing white. Both Flying-type Pokémon slashed at each other with one of their glowing wings, deflecting each other as if they were in an aerial sword-fight. The two slashed at each other repeatedly, neither of them showing any signs of wearing out from the continuous attacking. Meanwhile, on the ground, Clemont's Pokémon engaged Floyd and Lloyd's.

As for Adam, he was focused on Ash and Serena. Realizing that Pikachu, Froakie, and Fennekin outnumbered his Delphox and Fearow, he merely smirked.

"I'm outnumbered two to three," he said. Then, to Ash and Serena's surprises, he produced a third Poké Ball. "Well then, I guess I have to even out the playing field!" He cackled as he threw the Poké Ball into the air. "GO, **AGGRON**!" An Aggron emerged and roared angrily and loudly at its opponents.

"Aggron?" Serena asked, taking out her Pokédex and scanning it.

 _ **"Aggron, the Iron Armor** **Pokémon,"**_ it explained. _**"While seeking iron for food, it digs tunnels by breaking through bedrock with its steel horns."**_

Serena raised an eyebrow in curiosity, for there seemed to be something wrong. The picture of Aggron that the Pokédex was showing her depicted it as being colored gray-and-silver, but Adam's Aggron was colored differently: the gray was replaced with light-blue, while the silver seemed to have a yellowish tinge to it, and additionally, its eyes were red instead of blue as depicted in the Pokédex. It looks like she would have to check on it later.

"Delphox, use Mystical Fire!" Adam shouted suddenly. "Fearow, use Drill Peck! Aggron, Iron Head!"

Delphox fired a beam of flames from its wand, Fearow's beak began to spin like a drill and it flew towards its opponents, and Aggron charged towards them as well while the steel plate on top of its head began to glow a bright white. Ash and Serena both reacted instinctively.

"Froakie, use Water Pulse!" Ash cried. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

"Fennekin, use Ember!" exclaimed Serena.

Froakie created a blue sphere of water energy between its hands, which it then fired at Delphox's Mystical Fire, colliding with it and engulfing it in an explosion of water, putting out the fire. Meanwhile, Pikachu's tail became surrounded with white sparkles, and its outline glowed white; the Mouse Pokémon then struck Aggron's head with it, causing a small explosion that threw both backward. As for Fennekin, it fired a shower of embers at Fearow, spraying its face with it and blinding it, prompting it to stop its attack and fly around in the air wildly, cawing in pain. Adam growled and pointed at Serena and Fennekin in anger.

"Delphox, use Flamethrower!" he roared. "Double-time!"

Delphox fired a stream of flames from its mouth, which hit Fennekin and sent it flying in the air, severely burned. It let out a cry of pain.

"FENNEKIN!" Serena shrieked as the Fox Pokémon landed in her arms.

"AGAIN, DELPHOX! HIT THEM BOTH HARD!"

Serena looked up and gasped upon seeing the stream of fire heading towards her... Her eyes widened in fear...

"FROAKIE, USE BUBBLE ON THE FLAMETHROWER!"

Beams of multiple clear bubbles appeared and intercepted the Flamethrower, putting all of the fire out before it could reach Serena. She gasped again and then glanced at Ash, who was now glaring furiously at Adam, Delphox, and Aggron, all three of which were smirking back maliciously.

 _"He saved me...again..."_ she thought.

"You think you can defeat us?" Adam asked, chuckling madly. "I've faced tougher challenges than you lousy, worthless kids, and even they were pushovers!"

"You don't attack my friends like that!" roared Ash, looking infuriated beyond belief. "FROAKIE, USE WATER PULSE!"

"Fearow, Drill Peck," ordered Adam in a rather bored and dismissive tone before yawning briefly. "Finish this quickly; this is starting to get boring."

Fearow, having just recovered from the Ember, suddenly appeared, its beak whirring menacingly as it soared towards Froakie. The Bubble Frog Pokémon tried to dodge the ambush, but it was too late: Fearow slammed its beak into the helpless Water-type, violently throwing it up in the air seconds after performing its Drill Peck attack upon it. Ash gasped when the Beak Pokémon then swooped up towards the falling Froakie, with the intention of attacking it again despite the severe damage the Drill Peck dealt on his Pokémon. It was too late for him to try and order Froakie to move away or defend itself...

An Ember attack suddenly appeared and hit Fearow's wings, severely burning them and causing it to caw in pain as it descended closer to the ground, partially unable to fly. Then, a second Ember struck the Beak Pokémon squarely in the face, knocking it out and causing it to crash-land on the ground. This allowed Ash to catch the damaged Froakie in his arms, as Adam's jaw dropped open at the sight of one of his Pokémon being brought down so abruptly

"Wh-What?!" he exclaimed. "F-Fearow? NO! But...But..."

Shocked by what just happened, Serena looked down at her Fennekin. It was obviously still in pain from the burns it suffered, but it was determinedly looking at Adam and Delphox, growling menacingly, smoke issuing from its mouth. A glint of liveliness flashed across its eyes for a moment, something Serena noticed.

Adam also noticed Fennekin's stare, and he gritted his teeth. "Why that... That little... That little... **FENNEKIN**!" He pointed at Serena and Fennekin. "DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE! TEACH THOSE TWO MORONS A LESSON THAT THEY'LL NEVER FORGET: THAT THEY SHOULDN'T MESS WITH THE LIKES OF **ME**!"

"FROAKIE, USE WATER PULSE AGAIN!"

Delphox fired its attack, which was then put out by Froakie's Water Pulse. Adam gritted his teeth again in frustration, and pointed at Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie.

"AGGRON, USE METAL CLAW!"

Aggron charged towards the trio, its claws glowing white. However, Ash was ready.

"PIKACHU, USE THUNDERBOLT!"

Pikachu unleashed a volt of electricity from its body and struck Aggron. To Serena's surprise, the electricity wasn't affecting Aggron at all, although it did help to stop it in its tracks. Then, more to her surprise, Ash pointed at the Iron Armor Pokémon, a smile of confidence etched on his face.

"FROAKIE, FINISH IT OFF WITH WATER PULSE AGAIN!"

Froakie fired another sphere of water, which hit the Iron Armor Pokémon with full force, amplifying the effect of Pikachu's Thunderbolt in addition to dealing out its own damage. With a roar of pain, Aggron was sent flying towards Fletchling and Hawlucha, both of whom were still fighting heatedly. Fletchling immediately noticed Aggron coming and flew out of the way, but Hawlucha wasn't so lucky: it was slammed by the body of the Iron Armor Pokémon.

"HAWLUCHA, MY BABY!" screamed Nick.

"CARBINK, USE PSYCHIC!" ordered Floyd quickly. Carbink's eyes immediately glowed pink, and soon, so did the outlines of Aggron and Hawlucha's bodies. Soon, the two Pokémon were floating in midair, just inches close from landing directly into the blazing fire that was nearby.

Meanwhile, Lloyd focused all of his attention on Clemont's Pokémon. "TYRANTRUM, USE DRAGON CLAW!" he snarled.

Tyrantrum charged towards Bunnelby and Chespin, its claws glowing red.

"Chespin, use Pin Missile!" ordered Clemont. "Bunnelby, use Mud Shot!"

Chespin and Bunnelby quickly fired their respective attacks, both hitting Tyrantrum with quick succession and knocking the Despot Pokémon down to the ground hard. Bonnie and Dedenne, both of whom were nearby, let out cheers of triumph. Lloyd stared on in shock, but then, he began to snicker malevolently.

"So, you wanna play it tough, eh? Okay, then. Tyrantrum, use Crunch!"

Tyrantrum stood up and charged towards the two Pokémon quickly, its fangs glowing a bright white. Clemont's eyes widened at Tyrantrum's fast speed.

"Dodge, guys!" Clemont cried.

Bunnelby was able to move away from Tyrantrum, but as Chespin was doing so as well, it clumsily tripped on a rock. Tyrantrum was nearing it...

"FROAKIE, USE WATER PULSE ON TYRANTRUM!"

A sphere of water appeared and hit Tyrantrum before it could reach Chespin. Tyrantrum collapsed on the ground, severely affected by the Water-type attack.

"NO, TYRANTRUM!" screamed Lloyd.

Clemont smiled and glanced at Ash, who was giving him a thumbs-up. "Thanks, Ash!" he cried.

Ash nodded before glancing at Aggron and Hawlucha, who were being set down to the ground by Carbink under Floyd's command.

"PIKACHU, USE THUNDERBOLT ON THEM!"

Pikachu fired another Thunderbolt at the two Pokémon, striking both successfully and electrocuting them.

"AGGRON!" screamed Adam furiously.

"HAWLUCHA, NO!" Nick shrieked hysterically.

Both Pokémon then collapsed to the ground, smoke rising from their bodies. Hawlucha was unconscious, but Aggron managed to stand up, growling angrily.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

A white outline surrounded the body of the Mouse Pokémon for a brief moment before it charged towards Aggron at a fast speed, silver energy trailing from its body while doing so. The Iron Armor Pokémon tried to dodge Pikachu's attack, but it was too late: the Mouse Pokémon slammed into its body, bringing it down.

Floyd gasped and pointed at Pikachu. "Carbink, use Ancient Power!"

The Jewel Pokémon nodded and formed a glowing sphere of white energy in front of its body. However, before it was able to fire the sphere at Pikachu, a blue stream of bubbles suddenly appeared and hit Carbink and its Ancient Power, causing a tremendous, violent explosion that threw the Jewel Pokémon backward, colliding into Floyd and sending them both to the ground. Ash glanced at Pikachu's savior, which happened to be Froakie, who was in a readied battling stance.

"Thanks, Froakie!" he exclaimed, and the Bubble Frog Pokémon nodded at its Trainer.

Ash then stared down Adam's Delphox as Serena watched. Her blue eyes were shimmering with hope.

 _"He's got control of the situation...as always..."_ Her lips curved into a smile of satisfaction. _"It's great to be back with him in the face of a situation such as this..."_

"Now, let's finish this off, Pikachu!" Ash continued. "Use-"

However, Adam was quicker in his command. "DELPHOX, USE PSYCHIC ON THOSE THREE!"

Suddenly, Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie outlined with a glowing red aura. Serena and Fennekin watched helplessly as all three began to float in the air, trying their best to break free, only to be unsuccessful. Adam was chuckling sadistically, his Delphox twitching its wand as Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie all gasped.

"What are ya gonna do _now_ , little children?" he asked, still snickering. "Try and make a move, and I'll make sure Delphox gives these three the day of their lives! Oh, and speaking of which...Surrender now, all of you meddling fools!" Then, his lips curved into a terrible smile. "Or else-" He snapped his fingers, and Delphox twitched its wand; Ash's torso was thrust outward, and the Trainer screamed. "I'll make Delphox snap him and his Pokémon in half, like a bunch of weak twigs!"

"YOU **MEANIE**!" shrieked Bonnie, running forward before Clemont could stop her. "YOU LET ASH, PIKACHU, AND FROAKIE GO **NOW**!"

"DEDE!" Dedenne cried angrily in agreement.

"Aggron, use Heavy Slam," Adam said to Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokémon nodded before charging at the young girl, its outline glowing blue. Before Bonnie and Dedenne could move of the way, Aggron brutally slammed into them with great force, sending them to the ground hard.

" **BONNIE!** " Serena, Clemont, and Ash screeched simultaneously.

To everyone's surprise, Bonnie stood up, weakly so. She was sobbing, but it was clear she was holding it back with great effort. Her arms and legs were badly scraped and bleeding, her lower lip was cut and also bleeding, and bruises adorned her head. However, all of the pain didn't seem to be affecting her.

"DEDENNE, USE **THUNDERSHOCK**!" Bonnie ordered. Dedenne immediately hopped out of her satchel and released a beam of electricity, directing it at Delphox.

However, Aggron, having quickly recovered from the Thunderbolt it suffered, suddenly jumped between Delphox and the incoming ThunderShock attack, taking all of the attack willingly. Everyone gasped in shock as the volts of electricity merely coursed through its body, evidently not affecting the Iron Armor Pokémon. It then let out a loud, eerie chuckle of triumph that caused Bonnie and Dedenne to break out in a nervous sweat.

"Foolish girl," Adam whispered to himself. Then, he pointed at Bonnie and Dedenne. "HEAVY SLAM AGAIN, AGGRON!"

" **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**!" someone screamed.

A blur of light-blue stepped between Bonnie and Adam's Aggron, taking the full force of the latter's attack. Bonnie gasped as she saw the limp body of Clemont collapsed beside her, his glasses cracked, dirt-marks streaked across his face. After taking a few seconds to register what happened, Bonnie let out what could possibly be the loudest scream in her entire life. Serena also gasped as she gazed upon the body of her dear friend, while Ash screamed in anger.

"CLEMONT!" squeaked Bonnie, her voice practically almost gone. "Clemont, Clemont! Wake up, Clemont, wake UP!"

"Well," Adam said, no emotion laced in his voice, "that was... _unexpected_... But it was still a good show, nonetheless!" Then, he burst into laughter.

Serena continued to observe Clemont as Bonnie came to her brother's side and tried to wake him up. Tears were cascading down her cheeks.

 _"My friends..."_ she thought in horror. _"The people I love the most are...paying the price for what I've done... As well as this forest..."_

She looked around, examining her surroundings as the fire caused by Adam continued to rage on, consuming the remnants of the beautiful forest, causing the forest Pokémon to flee for their lives. Surprisingly, the flames didn't seem to be closing in on the entire group, as if they were protected.

 _"My friends... The Pokémon... Ash... ..._ Fennekin _..."_

Serena looked down at her beloved Fox Pokémon, which was still conscious, but still severely burned from Delphox's Flamethrower. It looked up at her with its red eyes, which were now shimmering. Then, she looked up at Adam as Lloyd joined his side. Meanwhile, Floyd and Nick closed in on Bonnie and Clemont's limp body, ready to tie them both up; Bonnie looked extremely fearful while Floyd appeared pitiful. ...She _trusted_ these villains...

And now...everyone and everything she knew was paying the price for it. Even the forest, which she considered her greatest fear...

Everything she tried to put right to her wrongs was only making everything worse... Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont were all suffering, as were the Pokémon...

Serena sighed and closed her eyes. Time suddenly seemed to stand still for her...

* * *

 _"I...I screwed up... Maybe I_ should _just give up..."_

**_"Don't give up now, Serena!"_ **

_"Why should I? I've tried to do everything in my power to make things right, and yet, everything I've done has led to an outcome that is worse than ever. Clemont and Bonnie are both hurt. Fennekin is hurt. Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie may or may not die at Adam's hand. All of the forest Pokémon will not have anything to call home for Arceus knows how long. Everything I do is just a stupid mistake. I probably should've just stayed home and accepted Rhyhorn Racing. But no, I just left home just so I could meet up with the boy who helped me out of the forest so long ago, a boy I only met once, who I barely know at all. I should've accepted Rhyhorn Racing..."_

**_"You and I know perfectly well that you hate that."_ **

_"Partially because I never understood why Mom wanted to teach it to me. But Ash helped me in understanding Mom's position. And now...I regret saying all that I have said to Mom. I rejected her love, her affection. I was her only child, the only thing she ever had to live for! And what was my gratitude to her, for all of the things she's ever done to me for my sake, and not hers? 'Oh yeah, well something unbelievable happened to my FACE, okay?' ...I'm sorry, Mom..."_

**_"I doubt that, or any of the other stuff that you said, hurt her. Your mother, she is a tough woman, Serena, but also an understanding one. There's no doubt she would've understood your motivations for disliking her, as much as you understood her motivations for teaching you Rhyhorn Racing. But what happened between you and your mother is NOT the issue here, Serena. The real issue is that your friends are on the verge of death, as are you and dozens, maybe even hundreds of Pokémon. Are you willing to let the consequences of your actions break past such a limit?"_ **

_"As I said before, why should I?"_

**_"Remember what Ash said, Serena: never give up till the end!"_ **

_"...I...I did everything that Ash told me to do. I never,_ ever _gave up till the end. And yet, I'm at the end...and I have_ every _reason to give up..."_

**_"And what about the things_ I _told you to do?"_  
**

Serena's eyelids jerked open, and she no longer found herself in the midst of a fire. Instead, she was overlooking a vast landscape of green and blue.

"W-W-WHAT?!" squeaked the Trainer fearfully. She looked down at her arms, only to find that Fennekin was gone. She then looked around frantically, but found herself alone in this strange new environment. "What happened to me?! Did I die?! Am I dead?! Where am I? WHERE AM I?!"

"Today's not the day to find out the answer to that."

Serena yelped out in fear the moment she saw a man standing beside her, wearing plain all-white clothing that seemed to flow with the breeze in the air. She noticed that he had honey-colored hair, just like she did. Before the Trainer could think about it further, she was surprised when the man stared at her.

"Hello, Serena," he greeted.

Serena merely blinked. "Who...Who _are_ you?..."

"I believe Floyd mentioned me to you quite a few times."

It didn't take long for Serena to realize who she was talking to.

"J... _Jake_?"

The man smiled brightly in response and completely faced her. "Yes, Serena, that's me. The famous Jake."

"But...But..." Serena's eyes widened. "Does that mean you're...you're _dead_?"

"Yes, that's right, Serena. I'm dead."

"But how?! How'd you _die_?!"

"I believe, for you, that's one of the hidden things in life that should _always_ stay hidden. You will not enjoy the answer."

"But...But if you're dead, does that mean I'm..." Serena gulped. "-dead too?"

To her relief, Jake smiled, closed his eyes, and shook his head. He opened them again, and she noticed that his eyes were as blue as hers.

"No, Serena, you're not dead," he replied modestly. "No, your consciousness was just transported here, to a world that is free from the constraints of time. As we speak, everything is frozen in the real world. Your friends have yet to die. But their fates will be decided by the decision you make here."

Serena looked around, examining the area she was standing on. It appeared to be a ledge, but there was something about it that seemed... _alive_... _  
_

"Can you please tell me where I am?" she asked instinctively.

"You'll find out one day, Serena," replied Jake, "but today will not be that day. Besides, you are not necessarily here, it is just your consciousness. It was taken here on its own accord, as a response to all of the desperation you were feeling." However, Serena looked confused, but Jake calmly continued. "Well, in other words, you needed any kind of help you can get, and so, you are now standing in this place, talking to me. Your mind was routed here on instinct."

"My...My _mind_?..."

"Yes, Serena, your mind. And now that you're here, it's time to talk about what should happen next."

"What happens next?" Then, Serena remembered what they were talking about. "I don't know what's gonna happen next. But I know one thing, and only one thing: I've let them down. My friends. ...All of them. I put my trust in someone I never fully knew, and now, they're paying the price for my stupid mistake."

"But they don't have to, Serena," replied Jake encouragingly.

"How, Jake? What do I have to do to fix everything that I've done?!"

"It's not my place to answer that question. The only one who can answer that question is _you_ , Serena. Remember my advice that Floyd told you?"

"A-Advice?"

_**"Always hope for the best and don't think about everyone else, because you're the only one in charge of your life."** _

Serena's eyes widened upon remembering. "That was _you_?"

"Yeah. I was the one who gave him that advice. Unfortunately, he hasn't followed it as of now. But fortunately, he's relayed it to you."

"So, what he said...that was _true_? But...But he's a bad guy-"

"He's a good guy at heart, but he's just misguided. ...Don't go down his path, Serena. You don't have to, and you'll never need to. Do you know why?"

"W-Why?"

"Because you have one thing that is better than the mind." He tapped a clenched fist over his heart. "And it will guide you wherever you go, Serena."

Instinctively, Serena placed her hand over her heart, as if it was drawn to it by some unknown force. She looked down at her hand as her fingers began to curl until it became a clenched fist. She then looked up at Jake, who was now smiling happily, his arm lowered.

"My heart..." she whispered, more to herself than to Jake. However, he seemed to have heard completely, for he nodded his head in response.

"Yes, Serena," he replied. "Your heart. If there's no one else you can possibly trust, your heart will be the only thing that could guide you through any situation, regardless of the odds that are against you." Jake observed Serena's confused expression. "It's okay if you are confused, Serena. It's not like you, or any other kid for that matter, to understand philosophies like that. But when the time comes, and believe me, it _will_ , then that's when you understand."

"No, I understand completely on what you're talking about, Jake..."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Then why so confused, Serena? There's nothing more I can do to clarify my message to you."

"Why am I talking to you, of all people? I never even knew you until Floyd talked about you yesterday. Why you?..."

To Serena's surprise, another smile appeared on Jake's face. But for some reason...it seemed to radiate _sadness_...

"Once you put your mind to it," he replied, "it won't be all that hard to figure out the answer."

Then, Jake's smile widened, just as Serena felt the world she was in begin to disappear all around her.

"Wh-What?!" she exclaimed. "What's going on?!"

"It is time for you to go now, Serena," Jake replied. "Your friends need you. There is no need to fear about letting them down once again, for you know exactly what to do. Just remember my words, Serena: Always hope for the best and don't think about everyone else, because you're the only one in charge of your life.

"Good luck."

Then, as everything around her began to blur, Serena watched Jake's lips move, but she couldn't heard any noise coming from them.

_**Goodbye, Serena. Till we meet again. Tell your mother I said hi, and that I'm very sorry. ...I love you...** _

* * *

Serena opened her eyes and found herself back in the blazing forest. Adam was still cackling.

"You fools thought you could win against us, eh?" he asked. "Well, guess what? You've all LOST!"

"Not all of us!"

Everyone glared at Serena, who was standing on her ground firmly. She was staring down Adam with all of the courage she could muster. A flame of newfound determination and boldness was blazing in her blue eyes as Fennekin hopped out of her arms, landed on the ground, and growled at Delphox.

"ADAM!" she shouted relentlessly. "I challenge you to a battle between my Fennekin and your Delphox. If I win, you let my friends go, and you put out this fire. If you win, you can take me, but ONLY me, as your hostage." She ignored Ash and Bonnie's gasps. "Do we have a deal?"

Adam blinked, taken aback by Serena's unexpected proposal. But then, his lips curved into a smirk.

"Deal."

However, Serena wasn't afraid of what could happen next. Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, it's all come down to this: a battle between Serena and Adam! Who shall be the crowning victor?
> 
> As for the scene between Serena and Jake...I can't explain why that happened. It will be too much of a spoiler for what I have planned next... Just stay tuned.
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	8. Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

"ADAM!" Serena shouted relentlessly. "I challenge you to a battle between my Fennekin and your Delphox! If I win, you let my friends go, and you put out this fire. If you win, you can take me, but ONLY me, as your hostage." She ignored Ash and Bonnie's gasps. "Do we have a deal?"

Adam blinked, taken aback by Serena's unexpected proposal. But then, his lips curved into a smirk.

"Deal."

"Let go of Ash first," said Serena.

Adam shrugged nonchalantly and glanced at Ash, who was still being held by Delphox's Psychic.

"A deal's a deal," he said. Then, he snapped his fingers, and Delphox stopped its Psychic, causing Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie to collapse hard to the ground. The Trainer then stood up and prepared to charge Adam, but Delphox suddenly stood between him and its Trainer, the other end of its wand lit with a bright flame.

"Serena!" Ash called in outrage. "You can't possibly be _serious_ about this deal!"

"I am serious, Ash," Serena replied. "I'm sorry, Ash. But I can't afford to let you, Bonnie, and Clemont get hurt anymore. I..." She hesitated for a moment as she reminisced about all of the times she relied on someone to make all of her decisions. "I have to make things right. No matter what."

"Well, then," Adam said as his Delphox advanced upon Fennekin, which growled at it, "I'm afraid to inform you that you won't be able to right your wrongs. You are gonna lose, little Serena, and believe me, it'll be the most humiliating experience of your life." His smirk widened. "You're gonna wish you never battled me."

"We'll see about that!" exclaimed Serena angrily.

"No, Serena!" Bonnie shouted as she began to run towards her friend. "Don't do it, please!"

Serena blinked away tears as she said, "I'm sorry, Bonnie. I'm really sorry." She looked at Fennekin. "Fennekin, use Ember! Create a fire around us and Adam!"

Fennekin nodded and fired several Embers, sparking a small but growing fire that encircled it, its Trainer, Adam, and his Delphox. Bonnie stopped just in time for several red-hot flames to appear just a few feet away from her, barring her from Serena. The young girl gasped in shock and horror as she tried to look through the crackling fire, only being able to see Serena's familiar pink hat, as well as a distinct outline of her face.

"SERENA!" she screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks as Ash joined her side.

Hearing Bonnie's voice echo through the air, Serena closed her eyes and sadly muttered, "Don't be sad, Bonnie. It'll be all right." Then, she opened them again and stared directly into Adam's soulless eyes. "Let's make this a fair fight, all right? No cheats, no unfair advantages."

Adam chuckled nastily. "Sure thing, Serena. After all, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you and your weak little fox. Can't be fair to use assert all of your power and effort upon a set of weaklings." He cackled malevolently at the angered expressions of both Serena and Fennekin, while Delphox sneered as well. "Anyway, I'm quite impressed with you, Serena. I didn't think you'd have the gusto in you to come to such great lengths to protect your friends."

"Considering that I've been double-crossed by people that I didn't fully understand in the first place," Serena spat, "it's understandable."

"HA! Such a sassy attitude. You should've shown that more often when I first met you." He shrugged. "Ah well, time to defeat you. Your move, Serena."

Serena pointed at Delphox. "Fennekin, use EMBER!" she commanded. The Fox Pokémon promptly fired an Ember attack at its higher evolution.

His smirk still in place, Adam ordered, in a mock-bored voice, "Reflect the Ember attack back with Psychic, Delphox."

Delphox waved its wand, to which Fennekin's Embers hung in midair, outlined by a pink glow. Then, they flew in the opposite direction, towards Fennekin.

"FENNEKIN, DODGE!"

Fennekin was able to jump away, just seconds before the Embers all struck the ground it was standing on, sparking a small clump of weak flames.

"You amuse me, Serena," jeered Adam. "Is Ember seriously the _only_ attack Fennekin can use? Or are you dim-witted in the fact that it can learn more attacks?"

Serena realized in an instant that he was right in the latter point. She only picked Fennekin as her starter Pokémon because it was extremely adorable. She did not even _bother_ to learn what moves it knew, and she only knew that her Fennekin knew Ember because it used the attack against a hostile Vespiquen.

The only reason she ever went out on her journey was to meet up with Ash again, and she was so blinded with that goal that she failed to even make an effort in learning everyone else she was affiliated with. She barely even _knew_ her own starter Pokémon. But Serena was determined to not let that hinder her chance at victory. She was going to win this battle, for her sake, as well as that of her friends. She had to find a way to defeat Adam...but how?

"Your move, Serena."

Serena looked up at Adam, who was still smirking at her. Dear Arceus, that smirk was so _annoying_...

"Use Ember again, Fennekin!" she ordered.

"Use Mystical Fire, Delphox!" commanded Adam.

Fennekin's Ember was easily overwhelmed by Delphox's Mystical Fire, and Serena gasped as she watched Fennekin fly across the makeshift battlefield, its body badly scorched, more than it already was. She bit her lip and put a hand to her heart as she watched her starter struggle to stand up, its body issuing smoke.

"FENNEKIN!" Serena screamed.

"What're you gonna do _now_ , Serena?!" Adam shouted before bursting out into a malicious cackle, while Delphox snickered sadistically.

"You shut up! Or-Or else!"

Adam glared at the young Trainer, his eyes alive with a fiery malice. "Or else _what_? What are _you_ gonna do to solve this little predicament that you wormed your own way into? Your short-mindedness amuses me in more ways than one. You seemed so determined at first, but now that I'm proving to be the dominant one in this little battle, you're starting to crumble away, like a poorly-constructed pillar. Did you honestly think everything _through_? The deal you gave me?" His sneer suddenly widened alarmingly. "Or did you just challenge me to a battle, just to impress your beloved _white knight_?"

"Be-Beloved white k-knight?" repeated Serena.

"Oh, believe me, Floyd wasn't the only one who was listening to your rather intriguing stories. You just didn't know that you were talking to me as much as you were talking to him." He giggled. "You probably should have stayed home with your mommy, riding Rhyhorn all day long, instead of running around with a stupid boy, one who previously saved you from the big, bad forest." His giggle evolved into malevolent laughter. "Such childish foolishness! That boy shall never know how you feel about him. Not only because I'm about to kill you in a slow, painful way, but because you were so damn SHY that you couldn't make an attempt..."

As Adam spoke, Serena took a slow step backward in shock and disbelief. When she did so, she felt her foot hit a large rock that she noticed was behind her.

"You're a fool, Serena, to make these foolish choices. And now, you and your Fennekin will DIE because of it-"

"SHUT UP!" interrupted Serena, the fury boiling inside of her. "EMBER AGAIN, FENNEKIN!"

Fennekin fired another Ember attack, but Adam was cackling again. Serena sensed that he was merely toying with her, anticipating her every move.

He was intentionally allowing this situation to pan out for as long as it could.

"DELPHOX, MYSTICAL FIRE!"

The Mystical Fire once again overwhelmed the Ember and prepared to hit Fennekin, but the Fox Pokémon was able to dodge it this time, albeit closely.

"Ember can't save you forever, little wittle Serena..." Adam taunted in a mock-childish voice. "Should we have a little timeout?"

"SHUT UP!" Serena shrieked furiously, a new fire alive in her eyes. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, **SHUT UP**!"

As if in response, Fennekin's eyes suddenly became alive with the same fire, and it opened its mouth. With a shriek, the Fox Pokémon fired a stream of flames, which propelled itself directly toward Delphox. However, Adam wasn't daunted; instead, he slashed at the air dramatically with his arm.

"Repel it with Mystical Fire, Delphox!" he commanded.

Delphox effortlessly summoned the attack with its wand; the Mystical Fire engulfed the stream of flames and headed straight towards Fennekin, who was able to quickly dodge it, using a newfound strength. It sprinted up directly in front of Serena, staring daggers at Delphox with its red eyes. Upon realizing what had just happened, Serena looked down at her Fennekin, feeling as if she had channeled her own energy into it in order for the Fox Pokémon to fire that attack.

Adam snickered sadistically, relishing in the newest development of the situation, and said, "Do you not know what your Fennekin just did, Serena? It had just demonstrated its capability to know a new attack. Quite an impressive Flamethrower it was able to pull off!"

"F-Flamethrower?" stuttered Serena, still looking at Fennekin, which looked back at her.

"And it fired it without needing a command! I wonder what that says about your training skills... That is, if you _have_ any."

Serena's eyes widened in fury. "WHAT?!"

"Oh, please don't tell me your Fennekin was trained to fire a Flamethrower without having to hear a verbal command from you! I have this gut feeling that you never bothered to make a single attempt at training Fennekin. I feel bad for it; its Trainer doesn't give a crap about it..."

"I CARE FOR FENNEKIN A LOT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"Oh, but I _am_. Why select Fennekin as your starter Pokémon when it's obvious you have no use for it? Oh, wait. To ensure that you impress your beloved white knight with that cute little fox. Melt his heart. I can tell you for a fact that your Fennekin's certainly melted mine. You can ask me out anytime, and I'll fall for it-"

"MY LOVE FOR ASH HAS **NOTHING** TO DO WITH MY CHOOSING OF FENNEKIN! I LOVE IT!"

"I doubt it-"

"I LOVE IT, AND I'LL PROVE IT TO YOU! FENNEKIN, USE **FLAMETHROWER**!"

Fennekin opened its mouth and tried to fire another Flamethrower, but only a single, weak flame ejected itself from its mouth and then landed carelessly on the ground, writhing and burning for only several seconds before extinguishing itself. Serena and Fennekin both sweat-dropped nervously (even though the two of them were already sweating badly) while Adam cackled loudly and emphatically, as if he had been told a rather funny joke.

"That's certainly such heartwarming love, I'll tell ya that!" Adam screamed insanely.

"SHUT UP, JUST **SHUT UP**! FENNEKIN, USE EMBER!"

"DELPHOX, MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Again, the Ember was extinguished by the stronger Mystical Fire, which then headed straight for Fennekin. Serena gasped as she watched the incoming attack bear down upon her Fox Pokémon, the crackling trail of flames and sparks it left behind giving it a sound, as if it were some sort of nightmarish creature.

Within the seconds that lapsed as the Mystical Fire attack closed in on Fennekin, Serena sensed that the Fox Pokémon seemed to be directly coming up against its greatest fear, as evidenced by its paralyzed pose and its tail, which was quickly tucked between its hind legs.

"FENNEKIN, DODGE!" Serena screeched.

However, it was too late: Fennekin was once again scorched by Delphox's attack, and it landed at its Trainer's feet, badly burned. Serena's blue eyes widened in complete, absolute horror. She was _losing_ the battle...and Adam was going to _win_. And she had doubts that he would live up to his end of the deal if she lost.

She was letting everyone down again...

At the corner of her eye, Serena could see the pair of familiar X-shaped markings...accompanied by a toothy, hungry grin...

She closed her eyes.

 _"What am I gonna_ do _?"_ Serena thought desperately. _"I'm gonna lose my first official battle...all because I trusted someone I should never have trusted..."_

**_"You tell me."_ **

_"Please tell me what I can do..."_

**_"Remember what I said-"_ **

_"It's not helping, Jake. It's not_ helping _... Nothing's helping. Nothing ever_ will _happen to help me... I guess I'm resigned to deal with the outcome, the consequences..."_

**_"No, you are NOT. You are in charge of your life. Not Adam, not your mom, not Ash._ You _are."_  
**

_"But how can I be in control when I'm losing my grip on it? I can't seem to handle well on my own, especially when I didn't make my own choices in the first place..."_

**_"Just think, Serena. Think, and you will do."_ **

Serena opened her eyes immediately and observed her surroundings. She noticed that the middle of the battlefield was ablaze due to Delphox's attacks...and all of the fire was mostly cutting across it horizontally, like a line... A small smile formed on her face, and she looked down at Fennekin, who was still conscious.

"D'you have enough in you for one more round?" she asked.

Fennekin nodded, smiling.

Serena smiled back. "Good. Then let's give it our all. After all..." She looked up at Adam and Delphox. " _We're_ in charge."

"What was that you said, Serena?" asked Adam, still smiling.

"We're in charge, Adam," the Trainer replied determinedly as Fennekin stood up, growling. "Us, not you two. And we will assert our control over you."

"I'd love to see you try. Delphox, use Mystical Fire."

"Dodge, Fennekin!"

The Fox Pokémon moved out of the way, just seconds before the Mystical Fire struck the spot it was previously standing on.

Adam yawned and waved his hand fleetingly. "Mystical Fire again, Delphox."

"Dodge, Fennekin!"

Once again, Delphox fired Mystical Fire, but Fennekin dodged it. This process repeated itself several times, until finally, it resulted in a line of fire being drawn in-between Serena and Adam, Fennekin and Delphox. Realizing what Serena had done, Adam growled in frustration and tried to see through the fiery line, but the intense heat and brightness it was emanating, which were already combining with those from the ring of fire encircling them, hindered his sights.

"Can't see them..." he snarled as he wiped his brow of the forming sweat. "Where'd they go?..."

Just then, he heard a voice vaguely shout out something over the crackling fire, and seconds later, an Ember attack appeared through the line, striking Delphox in the chest and knocking it backward. Adam growled, realizing what Serena's strategy was, and pointed at the direction where the Ember came from.

"DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE!" he ordered furiously.

Delphox fired the attack, but to his surprise, the moment the Mystical Fire went into the line of fire, it immediately mixed with the flames, which overwhelmed it.

"What the?!"

Another Ember appeared from a different direction and hit Delphox again. Adam looked around frantically to see where the new Ember attack came from. As he did, he heard the same vague voice shout again. Seconds later, this was followed by another Ember that barely missed his head and hit Delphox again.

"Arceus-damn it..." he snarled. "Arceus-damn it!" He began looking around furiously through the line. "Where ARE you, Serena?! Come and face me head-on!"

He heard the voice shout out again, and he glared at his left, where he thought he heard it come from. He and Delphox anticipated another Ember attack...

An Ember appeared at their right and hit Delphox again, causing it to cry out in pain as it collapsed to the ground.

"DAMN IT, DELPHOX!" Adam glared to his right, his right eye twitching menacingly. "YOU COWARD, SERENA! YOU CAN'T EVEN FACE ME!" With a yowl of anger, he pointed towards the direction from which the latest Ember originated from. "DELPHOX, MYSTICAL FIRE!"

With all of the strength it could muster, Delphox fired another Mystical Fire, but it was merely mixed into and overwhelmed by the uprising flames in front of it.

Seconds later, multiple Embers appeared, one after another, piercing through the wall of fire at different directions, successfully striking Delphox each and every time, dealing a great amount of damage to the Fox Pokémon. After about a dozen Embers were fired, wounding Delphox, while its retaliatory attacks wound up being only consumed by the line of flames, Adam clenched his fist. He couldn't tolerate this sudden advantage the Trainer was asserting over him any longer.

" **FACE ME, ARCEUS-DAMN IT!** " he screamed.

" **I AM!** " Serena's voice screeched.

Adam glanced to his left and spotted Serena's face, its features slightly distorted by the flames, but easily identifiable from the pink hat and honey-blonde hair, which he noticed also contributed to the fact that her face seemed to be _blending_ into the blazing fire. She also seemed taller, even from a slight distance, and he theorized that she had to be standing on some sort of higher ground in order to see him and Delphox clearly.

However...Adam realized that he couldn't see her Fennekin...

 _"But not for long..."_ he thought, sneering. Then, he pointed at Serena and ordered, "DELPHOX, USE PSYCHIC ON HER!"

Adam saw Serena's lips move quickly, and seconds later, another Ember appeared, hitting Delphox squarely in the head and knocking it to the ground, knocking it out instantly. Her lips moved once again, and a second Ember appeared from another direction, abruptly striking Adam in the right side of his face, burning it.

* * *

Ash, Bonnie, Floyd, Lloyd, Nick, and the remaining Pokémon couldn't see what was happening across the strong blaze that was barring them from being able to reaching Serena and Adam, so they all just stared silently at the fire, waiting anxiously for a victor to emerge. Lloyd and Nick looked apprehensive for the return of their leader, Floyd looked worried, and Ash and Bonnie were wearing determined expressions as they sat beside Clemont's unconscious form.

Just then, a howl of pain and agony, nothing like anyone had ever heard before, pierced the air, over the crackling of the smoky flames.

"What was that?!" exclaimed Nick worriedly.

The howl came again, and Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick were quick to recognize it.

"B- _Boss_?..." Lloyd asked, his eye twitching.

Ash and Bonnie looked at each other in excitement. It sounded like Serena was winning the battle.

* * *

Serena knew that her strategy was working. All she had to do was create a wall of flames between her and Adam to obscure his and Delphox's visions. The fire would easily absorb all of Delphox's Fire attacks, which it was extremely likely to use in such a situation, but it would allow Fennekin's Ember to pass through it because the embers were solid enough to penetrate the fire without being absorbed. All the while, she would see which position Adam and Delphox were in at the moment, by standing on the very rock that she nearly tripped on earlier. This would help her point the direction where Fennekin would fire its Ember.

She had no idea if that strategy would work, since she quickly formulated it after noticing the small flames lying between her and Adam. However, it turned out that it was working better than she had originally imagined it. And now, Serena was taking full advantage of it.

She was having the upper hand.

"DELPHOX, USE PSYCHIC!"

 _"Oh, no you don't!"_ Serena thought. Then, she pointed at Adam and Delphox's direction. "FENNEKIN, USE EMBER!"

The Fox Pokémon fired an Ember, which pierced through the wall of flames and hit Delphox squarely in the head. She pointed at the same direction again.

"USE EMBER AGAIN!"

Fennekin fired another Ember.

Serena watched as the Ember, in a rather unexpected move, struck Adam in the head as well, having missed its intended target.

Adam howled out in pain as he clutched the right side of his face, which seemed to be alight, smoke issuing from it. Serena gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in horror as she watched the man who menaced her and her friends collapse to the ground, still clutching the badly-scorched side of his face, moaning in pain, writhing like a pained animal. She never intended to hit Adam with the Ember, as much as he deserved it. She just wanted to defeat Delphox and give him the comeuppance he deserved for insulting her relationship with Fennekin, her relationship with Ash... _herself_...

For a moment, Serena seemed to _enjoy_ seeing Adam in pain...

Just then, a Tyrantrum burst through the ring of fire, putting out the flames in its path. Serena watched as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick dashed into the battlefield, and she noticed that their Pokémon were all conscious again despite being defeated by Ash minutes ago, for some strange reason.

"BOSS!" shrieked Lloyd as he ran up to Adam's side. "WHAT IN ARCEUS'S NAME?!"

Knowing that there was only one person who could've hurt his boss, Nick glared at Serena and pointed at her.

"HAWLUCHA, USE SKY ATTACK ON HER!" he ordered.

"FLETCHLING, USE STEEL WING!" another voice commanded.

Serena could see Ash and his Pokémon run into the battlefield as well; his Fletchling struck Hawlucha with its Steel Wing and sent it flying through the air.

Growling in frustration, Lloyd pointed at Ash, ordering, "TYRANTRUM, USE CRUNCH!"

Serena narrowed her eyes and pointed at Tyrantrum's direction. "FENNEKIN, STOP TYRANTRUM WITH EMBER!"

Fennekin fired an Ember through the fiery wall, and the attack hit Tyrantrum in the leg. However, Serena gasped immediately upon seeing that the attack didn't affect the Despot Pokémon, and she realized that it was a Rock-type Pokémon due to the rock-like nature of its physicality.

Then, she noticed that Nick was pointing at her again as his Hawlucha recovered quickly from Fletchling's Steel Wing. Floyd was now attending to Adam.

"USE AERIAL ACE, HAWLUCHA!" Nick commanded.

Regaining her senses, Serena ordered, "FENNEKIN, USE EMBER!"

Hawlucha flew towards Serena, being engulfed by light. However, Fennekin was quick, firing another Ember that hit the Wrestling Pokémon as it flew by. With a drawn-out squawk of pain, Hawlucha crash-landed at the base of the rock Serena was standing on, once again unconscious.

"ARCEUS-DAMN IT!" she heard Nick scream. However, she wasn't concerned about his defeat.

Instead, she was watching as Ash commanded his Froakie against Lloyd's Tyrantrum.

"USE WATER PULSE!" the black-haired Trainer shouted.

"COUNTER WITH A CRUNCH!" Lloyd snarled angrily.

Tyrantrum stampeded past Froakie's Water Pulse and prepared to bite down on the Bubble Frog Pokémon...

An Ember appeared through the wall of fire and hit Tyrantrum directly in the head, not affecting it, but causing it to stop in its tracks as it looked around for the source of the newest attack. This gave Froakie the opportunity to fire another Water Pulse, which hit Tyrantrum and severely damaged it.

"AGH, TYRANTRUM!" shrieked Lloyd.

Ash looked across the wall of fire and saw Serena, giving her a wide smile and a thumbs-up. Serena blushed and returned the thumbs-up with one of her own.

Then, Ash looked back at Tyrantrum and shouted, "AGAIN, FROAKIE! USE WATER PULSE!"

Froakie fired another sphere of water that hit Tyrantrum, knocking it out this time. Lloyd screamed in frustration as the Despot Pokémon collapsed at his feet.

"TYRANTRUM, NO, ARCEUS-DAMN IT!"

"Good job, Froakie!" Ash exclaimed, looking at Froakie. "Now, use Bubble on this fire!"

Froakie nodded and immediately began firing Bubbles at the ring of fire and also the wall of fire that divided it into two semicircles, putting it out within minutes, allowing Serena to run up to Ash, Fennekin by her side. Ash prepared to say something, but was interrupted when Serena abruptly hugged him tightly.

"Whoa, Serena!" cried Ash in surprise.

"You saved me again, Ash..." Serena whispered softly into his ear.

Ash chuckled and shook his head as Serena broke the hug and looked into his eyes.

"No, not really," he said. "Judging by the looks of things, you handled yourself pretty well back there. I just came in to clean up what remained of the trash."

The Trainer glanced over her shoulder, and Serena followed his eyes to see what he was looking at: the fallen Delphox and the badly wounded Adam, who was still being attended to by Floyd, who seemed to be treating his facial burns with some sort of spray. Serena found herself fortunate that she couldn't be able to look upon the full extent of the physical damage she inflicted on Adam... As long as it was bad, it didn't matter, since he deserved it...

"You... _cheated_..."

Adam's voice was an almost intelligible croak as his good eye stared at Serena and Ash. Both could recognize the loathing that was burning in his pupil.

"I didn't cheat," Serena snapped. "I showed you the true power that is the relationship between me and my Fennekin! Face it, Adam! I won this battle, and you lost, fair and square! Now you must hold up your end of the deal and put out the rest of this fire, or else I'll finish the job with your face!"

Indeed, the rest of the fire that Adam started was still raging; it was beginning to engulf many of the forest that survived the first fire.

"Damn you, girl..." snarled Adam.

"DO IT!"

Even Ash was taken aback by Serena's outburst; the same fire was alive in her blue eyes again. Fennekin growled menacingly at a surprised Adam.

The villain sighed in defeat and growled, "Fine. Where's Aggron?..."

The Iron Armor Pokémon, one of the two Pokémon remaining in its group that remained conscious, stalked towards Adam, awaiting its Trainer's next order.

"Use Mud-Slap on the fire, all of it..."

Reluctantly, Aggron grunted and nodded before digging its sharp claws into the ground. It then began rapidly flinging multiple huge clumps of dirt and earth at the crackling flames, gradually putting all of them out. Several minutes passed, and the fire was finally put out. Serena smiled with pride and happiness as she watched several forest Pokémon gather around, all in relief that the fire that had menaced them was now gone.

Then, she heard a voice that she wanted to hear the most, even more so than Ash's.

"SERENA, SERENA!"

Serena laughed in relief as Bonnie ran up to her and hugged her leg tightly, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Oh, Serena!" Bonnie cried, exasperated. "I thought you were gonna...gonna...gonna..." She hiccuped.

"It's okay, Bonnie," replied Serena as she knelt down and hugged the younger girl. "I'm okay..."

Suddenly, the air was pierced with the roaring of engines, and Serena, Ash, Bonnie, and the Pokémon all watched as several police cruisers and ambulances, all led by a motorcycle with a sidecar that was manned by a woman with turquoise hair and amber eyes, who was wearing a police uniform and cap.

"OFFICER JENNY!" Ash and Serena shouted simultaneously.

Jenny skidded her motorcycle to a stop and hopped out, running up to the group.

"Are you children okay?!" exclaimed the officer.

"My brother's hurt!" Bonnie cried, pointing at Clemont's unconscious form. Jenny immediately towards him, to which several paramedics and a Wigglytuff carried him onto a stretcher. The officer then looked at Serena, Ash, and Bonnie. "We need to get you three examined also; who knows how much smoke you inhaled?"

"Officer Jenny, you have to arrest these guys too!" Ash said.

"Who?"

"Those four! They confessed to starting these fires!"

"I don't see anyone there, kid."

Serena, Ash, and Bonnie all looked at the spot where Adam, Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick were previously at, only to find that space empty.

"They got away!" Serena cried, shocked.

"Wait a minute," said Jenny, "you kids are saying that these fires were _arson_?"

"That's right, Officer Jenny," replied Ash, nodding gravely.

"Well...investigators examining the first fire said that the cause of it was extremely suspicious... Arson had been their primary suspicion..." Jenny's eyes glinted. "If you kids can provide us with explanations on what the four of them looked like, we could run them through the Pokémon Criminal Registry. But for now, all of you get into an ambulance, quickly! We have to get you all to a Pokémon Center where you can get examined."

"Alright," the three children chorused, but as they recalled their Pokémon and headed towards the nearest ambulance, Jenny spoke again.

"By the way, which one of you called us in?"

"Huh?" Serena stopped running and looked at the officer, as did Ash.

"We received an anonymous tip that there was a second fire going on in the forest, and that children were caught up in its midst."

* * *

The four villains laid low in the dense cover of bushes located in a part of the forest that was unaffected by the fires.

"That accursed girl!" snarled Adam as Floyd began placing a surgical fabric over the burned side of his face. "She will _pay_ for this dearly- **OW!** "

"Hold still, boss!" Floyd exclaimed. "I'm trying to put this thing on as best as I can!"

"It's a good thing we managed to hightail it as soon as the cops came in!" exclaimed Nick, sighing in relief. "How in the world did they find us anyway?"

"I do not give a Rattata's ASS about how the cops found us," Lloyd growled menacingly. "What matters now is where we go from here! We've got no jeep, we have no way of getting out of this forest unless we just come to the cops for help, we're VERY low on supplies, and all of our Pokémon are out for the count!"

"Not all of them..." said Adam. He pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it, summoning Aggron. "Aggron, use Dig to find us a way out of this forest!"

The Iron Armor Pokémon growled and began digging into the ground furiously. Nick glared at Adam, agitated.

"How come you didn't think of this at first?!" he snapped.

"It just came to me in the moment! And besides, I had other things to worry about. Like how I ended up with you three as my accomplices!"

"HEY!"

However, Adam ignored his accomplice and was now staring into the sky. The vision of his right eye was now being slowly obscured by the surgical fabric Floyd was placing over the burned half of his face. The only thing he could think about was the miserable girl who defeated him and now made his life more of a pain than before. The last time he felt this humiliated, this dominated was when he had to deal with the likes of Jake...

And he knew the only way he was able to solve that problem last time. His lips curved into a horrifying grin.

 _"I'll get that girl..."_ he thought. _"Oh, I'll get her. I'll make sure she pays_ dearly _. This is not over yet, little Serena. Oh, no. In fact, this has just_ begun _!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the chapter, which seems to be the longest yet to be written for this story! I apologize if the pacing seemed a bit too fast at the end, but don't worry, for all shall be revealed in the chapters that are ahead! It especially looks like Adam's got a grudge against Serena now...
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	9. Choice, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

_**"You did it, Serena."** _

_"All thanks to you."_

_**"No, it wasn't me. You had it in you all along. I just...jump-started you, that was all."** _

_"But if you hadn't, then I wouldn't have had it within me to bring down Adam. Save that forest, all of those Pokémon, from further destruction and dismay."_

_**"Well...I guess..."** _

_"...J-Jake?"_

**_"Yes, Serena?"_ **

_"The thing you said to me, before I went back to the real world...I couldn't hear you, but think I was able to read your lips. I need to make sure. Wh-What did you mean when you wanted me to tell my mom that you said hi and that you were sorry? ...Did...Did you know my mom? And...what were you sorry for?..."_

_**"Serena, I'm afraid I cannot enlighten you with the answers to those questions."** _

_"But why?"_

_**"It will only lead to pain and misery for perhaps the rest of your life."** _

_"But my mom-"_

**_"It's enough for her to bear. But...I_ can _tell you this: yes, I knew your mom. I'll leave it at that."_  
**

_"And...And you said that you_ loved _me... What did that mean?..."_

**_"..."_ **

_"Jake?"_

**_"..."_ **

_"Jake?! What did you mean by that?"_

**_"...Goodbye, Serena."_ **

An explosion of the brightest of crimson overwhelmed all of her senses. She tried to scream out for help, but she couldn't. She heard a cackle in the distance...

* * *

Serena sat up on her bed, screaming as loud as she could, relieved that sound was finally emerging from her mouth. The cackling was still echoing in her ears...

"Serena!" a voice exclaimed distantly. "Serena, what's wrong?!"

The honey-haired Trainer stared into a pair of auburn eyes. All fear washed away from her in an instant as she realized how close these eyes were.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay," she replied, trying to compose herself. "I just..." She looked away nervously. "Just had a bad dream, that was all."

Though she couldn't see it, Serena sensed a grin forming on Ash's face. Already did she feel relieved by her friend.

"Ah, don't worry, Serena," he said. "Everyone has bad dreams. There's no need to become worried about them. They're just bad dreams and nothing more."

"Yeah." Serena looked at Ash, whose face was now positioned inches farther from her. "Yeah, you're right, Ash. No need to get worried over a bad dream." Ash smiled at her in response, and she smiled back. Then, she looked out of the window and saw the moonlight creeping through it. "Oh, it's still nighttime."

"Yeah. Better get back to sleep. We don't want Clemont to wake up and see us all sleepy."

Serena could not help but giggle a little, then watch as Ash climbed into the lower bunk of the bunk-bed located on the other side of the room. He laid down on the bed, glanced at Serena to give her one last reassuring smile, and then closed his eyes, falling into slumber. He was surprising quiet in sleep right now; he'd usually make sleeping for her a bit complicated because of his snoring and his occasional mumbling, even if he was in a different tent.

The female Trainer took this time to lie down on the bed herself and look up to delve into her thoughts. Her view of the ceiling was obscured by the upper bunk of her own bunk-bed, and she could hear the calm and tranquil snores of Bonnie, who was occupying said level. Ever since the incident in the forest ended, the little girl had reverted back into her optimistic, happy-go-lucky, Dedenne-doting self, which was a bit of a relief, considering all she had been through.

Nurse Joy was able to put Clemont back into good health, but he was expected to regain consciousness in the next morning, hence Serena, Bonnie, and Ash all staying over at the Pokémon Center located further into the same vast forest that nearly burned down. However, Serena was unsure about doing so, since she knew that Adam, Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick were out there, somewhere nearby, no doubt plotting their scheme of retaliation.

And if there was one thing she could say about them, it was that they were definitely worse than that annoying Team Rocket that follows them around.

Adam's scream of pain and agony suddenly flashed across Serena's mind, and her eyes widened in concern. She didn't know what she exactly did to him, but it definitely sounded like it hurt. And she didn't know how to feel about it. One side of her felt that he deserved it; after all, he threatened all of her friends, all the while treating it like some sort of fun game. But another side felt guilty; the moment she heard his bloodcurdling scream of death, she felt a hint of pleasure and satisfaction, and it was definitely unlike her to revel in someone else's pain and misery, feeding off on it like a life source...

And...what if he _died_ from that wound? She never killed anyone before, and even if it was in self-defense, she couldn't help but feel that she was not any better than him... No... She was _way_ worse than him. He never killed anyone as far as she could tell. She did...and she felt some pleasure from it...

Serena knew she would experience a lot of obstacles that all Trainers were expected to encounter. But to do the unimaginable as a Trainer was NOT on her list. There was no way in a billion years that Serena Yates was an aggressive sadist! For all her life, she was upheld as a nice person! This was against her nature!

Serena closed her eyes, hoping to the high heavens that sleep would take her away and bring her into its euphoric comfort, relieving her of all her worries, but that tactic failed the moment she employed it. As a result, she spent the next half-hour tossing and turning, moaning as her haunted thoughts harassed her.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and jerked her eyes wide open. Staring blankly into the upper bunk for a couple of minutes, Serena then sat up on her bed and glanced across her shoulder to look at Ash, who was now fast asleep. Pikachu wasn't curled up on his lap as usual; he has been at the medical room after being inspected for smoke inhalation and battle injuries, and it had to spend the night there along with the other Pokémon...

Including Fennekin...

Instinctively, Serena got out of her bed and walked out of the group's quarters. Looking around, momentarily confused about where the medical room was (she had not been paying that much attention while being escorted into the Pokémon Center), she then walked to her right, down the hallway, where she was able to remember the room's location. Indeed, Serena found herself staring at the sign 'MEDICAL ROOM: CAUTION, RECUPERATING POKEMON!' in a few minutes.

Cautiously opening the door with a slight creak, Serena peeked inside the medical room, where she could see over a dozen Pokémon recovering from whatever brought them to the Center in the first place. It didn't take long for her to spot the large, puffy yellow ears of her Fennekin, sticking up from its bed.

After she looked over her shoulder to see if Nurse Joy or one of her Wigglytuff staff was there, Serena then silently wandered inside the medical room, tiptoeing past other resting beds, recognizing Ash's Froakie and Clemont's Chespin as she passed their own beds, to whom she briefly smiled at.

Upon reaching Fennekin's bed, she gently stroked its fur as the Fox Pokémon slept. Exhaling, Serena then moved her hand to one of its ears, stroking it as well.

"Oh, Fennekin," she said. "You did well back there. You really did."

Fennekin subconsciously grunted softly in response as it slightly shifted its position. Serena exhaled again as her eyes softened even more.

"I know you can't hear me right now, Fennekin. I'm pretty sure you're off in your own world, somewhere in your mind. But nevertheless, I just wanted to say..." Serena exhaled once again, the knot of pressure tightening within her chest. "I am so, so sorry. To tell you the truth, Fennekin...the only reason I picked you is because you, as a Pokémon, would give me further credit as a Trainer, so then it'd be a lot easier for Ash to notice me. I never, _ever_ had any sort of intention of doing any kind of activity with you. I only meant for you to be my Pokémon so then it can enforce my excuse to travel with Ash. I would have chosen a Chespin or a Froakie for all I cared, but I only chose you because you were the cutest of the three starter Pokémon and I had a thing for cute Pokémon, so...yeah.

"But you know what? Ever since you saved me from that Vespiquen back then, I felt that we had some sort of connection. I had this feeling in my gut that we'd accomplish something together, as a team...as _friends_. But all of those feelings were overwhelmed by my desire to meet up with Ash again. I mean, I have very good reasoning to wanna meet up with him again; he saved me when I was little, when I was in a really deep hole, and I felt like I never had a chance to thank him, no matter how many times I actually did thank him. I feel like I owe him a debt, and I hoped that if I continue traveling with him, I eventually would.

"But...you have no idea how much my desire led to me neglecting you, Fennekin. I barely know you. I mean, the only things I know about you is one attack and you have this habit of grooming your fur so attentively. That's all I know. You have no idea how stumped I was when we were fighting that Delphox. It's a good thing the strategy I cooked up proved to be effective in the end. But...was that out of skill? Or just pure luck? What will happen to us once we battle again? Will my strategy help us out again like it did last time? Or will it fail on us miserably? And what happens if we lose? What happens if it's Adam we're fighting again?

"You have absolutely _no_ idea, Fennekin, no idea of how I never cared at first. I was...I was just being selfish, so caught up in my personal desire. I just wanted Ash to notice me. I was never concerned at all about _your_ feelings, your _desires_. I never cared about anyone else except me and Ash, and once I _did_ care about someone else, it was too little, too late... Clemont, Bonnie... _you_ got nearly killed by a group of madmen...and lots of other Pokémon too...just because I was too caught up in myself, too selfish... To think that all of you were so close to death because of one simple desire... _  
_

"And to make matters worse, I hurt someone. You didn't hurt him. _I_ did. He may have deserved it, but...to think things have gotten THAT far..."

Serena closed her eyes, not realizing that she had been crying until she felt the tears on her cheeks upon making that physical movement.

"I'm sorry, Fennekin," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Bonnie. I'm so sorry, Clemont. I'm so sorry Ash. I am so, SO sorry, everyone. I've let you all down. I was being so selfish. I never had a care in the world aside from myself and Ash... Oh Arceus, what have I put myself into?!"

Serena collapsed to her knees, and she found her face at the same height as Fennekin on the bed. Her hand was still on its ear, but Serena barely noticed. Her lips trembled as she continued to stare into the sleeping Fox Pokémon, who was, without a doubt dreaming about its future as...whatever it wanted to be. How in Arceus's name would she know what Fennekin wanted to do in life? All she cared about was her future with Ash...who was just a simple schoolgirl crush...

She could hear the same cackling... She opened her eyes in response.

Even if her sight was blurred by her tears, Serena could recognize them. It was the third time she saw them today; she wondered if she had gone crazy.

The X-shaped markings were levitating loosely in the air at a corner of the room like spirits, the toothy grin accompanying them looking extremely hungry now... It seemed to be some sort of face, one that not even her worst nightmares could ever construct, one beyond her understanding.

Serena blinked, and the markings and the grin were all gone. She stood up abruptly, wondering where the strange spirit of a face had gone.

"Hello?" she called, feeling the fear rising up within her, extinguishing the knot of pressure previously there. "Is someone here?"

"Relax, Serena, it's just me," a familiar voice replied softly.

Serena twirled around and saw Ash stepping inside the medical room, his hands raised in caution. She couldn't help but blush and hope that the lighting in the room wasn't sufficient enough to fully illuminate her bright-red cheeks. She flashed a kind smile towards her friend.

"Oh, hey Ash," she greeted. "I see you're up."

"Yeah, sleep hasn't been friendly to me tonight."

"Why, what happened?"

Ash shrugged dismissively. "Oh, had a bad dream."

Serena was taken aback by his response. Of all the people she knew, Ash was the last on her list of people likely to have bad dreams. It was very surprising...

Ash seemed to know what she was thinking, as he chuckled and continued, "Well, I said everyone has bad dreams. Can't see why I have to be an exception."

"But-But you're so...so...uh..."

"Unlikely to have a bad dream?" completed Ash. He shrugged again. "Can't see why that has to be so."

"It's just that, well, you always just stand up to the face of fear and danger, and blow a raspberry at its face. You are the last person I could think of- no, you're _not_ the kind of person I would expect to be bothered by something simple like a bad dream. You're...You're such a brave and courageous person, Ash..."

She could feel her blush rising, as well as the temperature in the room. The knot of pressure was back, and the strange face faded away from her memory.

"No one's perfect, Serena," Ash replied. His eyes then widened and he let out a soft chuckle.

"Why, what?" Serena asked, confused about her friend's attitude.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something that happened to me when I was challenging the Battle Frontier."

"Why, what happened?"

"Well, I was intending to challenge the Pyramid King Brandon when I heard from him that there was this orb that contained the spirit of Ho-Oh."

Serena's eyes widened. "No way, _really_?!"

"Well...that's what everyone thought. But when I went over to the orb to check it out, it turned out that..." Ash's expression darkened noticeably, which further intrigued Serena. "...the legend was _wrong_. Instead, the orb contained the spirit of a king who tried to capture Ho-Oh. And...I was possessed by that spirit..."

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Serena, covering her mouth with her hands in horror. "What happened?!"

The dark look in Ash's face disappeared, instead being replaced with his usual optimistic smile. "Oh, I had Pikachu use Thunderbolt on me during a brief moment of clarity, which forced the spirit to leave my body and back into the orb. But during my brief possession...I did things that I'd never, ever do..."

"Oh..." Serena placed a hand over her heart, shocked to hear this kind of information from Ash. "I suppose we should stay clear of that topic now-"

"No, it's okay," Ash interrupted, shrugging once again. "I have gotten past that occurrence a long time ago. But what I am trying to tell you from that example is that you can't judge anyone according to what they've done to you to deserve such judgment. I saved you back at the camp when we were young, and judging from what you were saying back then, and also right now, you seem to view me as some sort of perfect, flawless person. No one can be that perfect."

Serena's eyes widened again as she realized what Ash was implying. "You-You _heard_ me?" she asked.

Ash nodded. "Every last word." He smiled. "Serena, if you feel that your debt to me is getting in the way of whatever dream you want to pursue with Fennekin, then you are free to leave us if you wish. Don't ever, _ever_ let anything stand in the way of your dreams, including me."

One surprise after another. "Ash..." Serena whispered, but Ash still smiled.

"It's okay if you wanna leave, Serena," he said. "The only thing I hope for from that decision is that we meet each other again in the future."

"A-A-Ash..." stuttered Serena, unsure of what to decide. She could still feel the temperature rising in her; she was sweating...

"Well, if you can't decide right now, then you can certainly take your time, as much time as you need. It's not like I'm in a real rush to learn the answer."

Serena sighed in relief; it was definitely too much pressure for her to make such a decision. It was getting unbearably hot for her.

"Whoa, what's up with the air-conditioning of this room?" asked Ash as he started swatting air at himself.

"Huh?" For some reason, Serena could still feel the heat rising. She noticed that Ash was sweating too.

"It's really hot in here," Ash replied. "Maybe we should tell Nurse Joy to fix the air-conditioning-"

Just then, they heard a tired groan, and Serena glanced at Fennekin, who was now awake, exhausted, but at full alert. The two then looked around and were quick to notice the other Pokémon in the medical room waking up, one by one, some sniffing the air, others starting to get panicked.

"Pika?"

"Huh, Pikachu?" Ash glanced at Pikachu's bed, which was nearby. "What's wrong?"

Then, he noticed the Mouse Pokémon sniffing the air, and began to follow suit. His eyes widened, and he looked at Serena.

"Uh, Serena?"

"Y-Yeah?" replied Serena nervously as she felt more sweat forming. The heat really was rising in the room.

"Can you smell smoke?"

Before she could reply, she felt the scent fill up her nostrils as well, and she quickly nodded at Ash. Seconds later, the door to the medical room burst open, and the two Trainers watched as Nurse Joy and a Wigglytuff ran into the room, both stopping in their tracks upon spotting Serena and Ash.

"There's a fire at the Pokémon Center!" Joy exclaimed worriedly. "Get all the Pokémon out!"

"There's a fire?!" Serena and Ash shouted simultaneously.

"Yes, and it's getting stronger by the minute! We have to evacuate everyone in the Center!"

Just then, a fireball suddenly emerged and exploded through the doorway, engulfing it in flames. The familiar smell of burning wood flooded Serena's nostrils as she quickly grabbed Fennekin and sprinted over towards a corner, watching as Ash, Pikachu, Nurse Joy, and the Wigglytuff gathered up the remaining Pokémon while the fire continued to spread into the medical room. As she did, she could feel Fennekin struggle in her arms, growling angrily.

"What's wrong, Fennekin?" she asked, looking down at the Fox Pokémon. However, it continued to growl menacingly, failing to respond to its Trainer. She then noticed that it was staring directly at the doorway, as if there was some unseen force of menace standing there.

"Serena, we have to get outta here!" screamed Ash over the loud crackling of the flames.

"Quick, to that emergency exit!" Nurse Joy shouted, pointing to another door a few feet away from Serena.

"Right!" replied Serena. However, as she stood up, Fennekin suddenly hopped out of her arms and began dashing towards the burning doorway. "FENNEKIN!"

She watched in horror as the Fox Pokémon leaped into the flames, and prepared to go after it when she felt someone grab her arm.

"No, Serena!" Joy shouted, her voice barely audible over the flames. "It's too dangerous- NO, ASH!"

The two watched as Ash ran after Fennekin, edging his way through the fire using clear, unscathed areas. As soon as he disappeared in the thick mass of dark smoke, Serena immediately tore her arm free from Joy's grasp and ran after Ash, using the same route as he did to get through the hot fire. She could not even hear Joy's screams and cries of concern for both Trainers at that point, but she didn't care right now; all she cared about was getting to Fennekin and Ash.

"FENNEKIN?!" she screamed over the crackling of the fire. "ASH?! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

After several minutes of making her way through the flames, Serena found herself in the reception area, which appeared to be the point of origin for the fire, as it seemed to suffer the most damage out of all of the affected areas in the Pokémon Center. The fire was the strongest there, as was the heat. The Trainer felt her sweat drip down her face in hot beads, and she started coughing from the excessive smoke before covering her nose and mouth.

"FENNEKIN!" Serena screamed again between coughs. "ASH!"

She then suddenly heard Ash's voice in the distance, but she didn't know where it was coming from. A wooden beam from the ceiling suddenly fell a few inches from her feet, startling her for a brief moment. Then, she glanced towards the reception desk and spotted the loudspeaker system, which fortunately remained unaffected by the fire. Making her way to the desk, she grabbed the microphone, activated the intercom, and began speaking.

"Fennekin, Ash?" she asked between coughs. "It's Serena! I am at the reception area! Please come back to me! I-I don't know if I can stand all of this smoke-" She was cut short when pieces of flaming wood fell behind her, barely missing her; she squealed in horror. "Please come back to me, please!"

Serena then switched off the intercom and fled the reception desk, just in time to avoid more falling wood and debris as it buried the desk.

"Oh my Arceus!" exclaimed Serena in shock as she nearly ran into a new wall of flames while trying to get back into the medical room. She then tried to get her way through the fire, but quickly realized that she was now barred from reentering the medical room. "Oh no, oh no, oh NO!"

She then ran back into the reception area, only to find the main entrance blocked by a large pile of flaming debris.

"Oh NO!" she moaned. "How am I supposed to get outta here?!"

She then started coughing severely, and as she did so, the Trainer stepped back...and tripped on a wooden beam.

Within seconds, Serena found herself staring at the ceiling as the fire began to spread across it like snakes. She then moved over on her stomach and began to crawl across the floor, still coughing, trying to savor what fresh air was emanating from the floor. It was all too much for her; her world was spinning and fading.

"Gotta...get...outta here..." she moaned.

"I don't think so, little Serena," a familiar voice snarled.

Looking up slightly, Serena found herself staring at a pair of boots. She then looked up slowly, her world continuing to fade.

She barely recognized the neatly-combed, wavy green hair with golden streaks right before she fell unconscious...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess you know who that unknown person was at the end. And...any ideas as to what could be up with that strange face with the X-shaped markings? I'm honestly surprised no one actually seemed to notice it, since that strange face DID appear twice earlier. Hopefully your guesses are good, guys... ;D
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	10. Decision, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

Bonnie stood outside the blazing ruins of the Pokémon Center, holding a clenched fist to her chest in apprehension and concern. She was among the many who were evacuated from the Center, but as she stood there, many Pokémon recuperating from sustained injuries, including Dedenne, were still trapped inside that ablaze structure...and also Serena and Ash. She tightened her grip as she watched several Water-type Pokémon assist firefighters in putting out the blaze.

"B-Bonnie?" a voice asked feebly. The young girl gasped and looked at her side; Clemont was sitting up on the wheeled bed he was taken out on, which stood next to her; he was squinting as he looked around for his glasses. "Bonnie, what's going? What happened?"

"Oh, Clemont!" Bonnie squealed in relief, hugging her older brother tightly. "You're awake! I'm SO glad!"

"Bonnie..." Clemont croaked suddenly. "Too tight... Let go, please..."

"Oh, sorry!" Bonnie released Clemont and then handed him his glasses, which were held in her other hand the entire time.

The inventor nodded in thanks to his sister and put them on. Then, he glanced at the source of the bright-red lighting and gasped at the horrifying sight.

"Whoa, that Pokémon Center is on _fire_!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Ash, Serena, and our Pokémon are all still in there!" cried Bonnie.

"WHAT?!"

Clemont immediately tried to get out of his bed, but suddenly, he cried out sharply and held a hand to his chest, which was still throbbing in pain from the hard blow that he received from Adam's Aggron. Bonnie quickly helped him back into the bed as he groaned softly.

"You need to stay in bed, Clemont!" she exclaimed. "Nurse Joy said you were hurt pretty badly by that Aggron!"

"But...we can't just sit here and leave Ash, Serena, and the others alone like that..." moaned Clemont.

"Don't worry, Clemont! Knowing Ash and Serena, they can take perfectly good care of themselves! They'll be fine; I just know it!"

* * *

A cackle in the distance...

Serena jerked her eyelids open upon hearing it. The first thing that greeted her eyesight was the starry nighttime sky, the stars twinkling at her majestically. At the right, there seemed to be a rather odd hue of crimson that was staining the otherwise dark and beautiful sky. Moaning, her head reeling with dizziness, the Trainer sat up, and at that moment, she instantly began to smell the familiar burning of wood. However, as she looked around, she saw no traces of fire.

She also realized that she was in the middle of a forest again. To her right, something seemed to be ablaze miles away...

Her eyes widened as her memory caught up to her. The Pokémon Center was on fire...Fennekin ran off...Ash followed it...

A crop of green hair with golden streaks was the last thing she saw...

"I see you're awake, little Serena," a familiar voice sneered.

Serena gasped and looked to her left. Standing there was a man whose face was shrouded in the dim shadow of the tree he was standing under, but she did not need to know who that stranger was. Her eyes narrowed angrily as the Trainer realized the reality of the situation; she stood up and clenched her fists.

"You started that fire at the Pokémon Center, didn't you?!" she shouted. "Just like you set that forest fire and endangered the lives of many Pokémon!"

Adam snickered maliciously. "Oh, you catch on _very_ easily, Serena," he snarled jeeringly in response. "Yes, that was me and my Aggron."

Serena's eyes widened in confusion. "Your Aggron? Isn't it a Steel-type Pokémon?"

"Steel-type Pokémon can learn Fire-type attacks as well, and my Aggron is capable of learning Incinerate. And since Aggron is the only Pokémon at my disposal, after what you and your Fennekin had done to my Delphox, I guess I should use it to the best of its ability. Wish I could say the same for you and Fennekin..."

Serena gritted her teeth; she knew that Adam was mocking her and her inability to learn more attacks from Fennekin. However, she kept her cool.

"We beat you despite that disadvantage, Adam," she replied. "I guess this is why you took me. To get your revenge on me?"

"Oh yes, that's _exactly_ what I hoped to do by accomplishing this."

At that moment, Adam slowly stepped out of the tree's shadow. Serena's eyes widened in shock as soon as she saw his face: the half of it that was burned by Fennekin's Ember was now covered by some sort of a surgical fabric, with an eye-hole that exposed Adam's bloodshot right eye, its yellow pupil now extremely, eerily pale. There were also two large threads sewn in an X-shaped pattern over the area where the right side of his mouth should be, in order to keep a fabric tear in place, but it made it as if Adam was now always grinning on the right side of his face, due to the curve the thread took.

"Now do you see what you have done to me, Serena?" he asked, his voice disturbingly calm, although Serena knew he was anything but. "You've hurt me, and you've hurt me pretty badly. Now..." Adam suddenly chuckled sadistically. " _Now_... _I_ am gonna hurt you pretty badly! HAHAHA! Bring 'em out!"

Serena instinctively looked behind her and watched as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick appeared from the shadows of the forest. Floyd was dragging a limp, unconscious body, while Nick was carrying a smaller, immobile body as well. She gasped as soon as she recognized both forms.

"ASH!" she screamed. "FENNEKIN!"

"That little fox seemed to sense we were here," Adam explained, "but we took good care of it. The foolish boy followed soon after when he saw us knock it out. He tried to be a hero." He scoffed. "Both of them were. What stupid fools they were. But..." He looked at Serena. "They're victims of your foolishness, Serena."

He snapped his fingers, and Serena watched as Aggron stalked out of the shadows as well, the metallic parts of its body gleaming from the crimson hue.

"Since we have these two along with you," he continued, "I thought I would make my revenge as sadistic as possible." He chuckled. "I shall allow you, Serena, to choose only one of them to live. The one you pick is spared from a painful death at the hands of my Aggron, who's been lusting for blood for a while now. So, who shall it be, little Serena? The boy you wished to confess your feelings to for so long, or the fox you wished to understand more? It is your choice to make.

"Either way, someone _will_ die. And _you're_ gonna have to watch and relish in your foolishness." Adam's smile widened as he heard Serena gasp. "Your pick."

"M-M- _My_ pick?!" the Trainer exclaimed. She glared at Adam hatefully. "You...You sick, sick man!"

"Want me to choose for you, little Serena?" He looked at Aggron, and it nodded at its Trainer. "We _really_ don't have much time for lollygagging-"

Her eyes widening in alarm, Serena cried, "No, no, no! I'll do it, I'll do it!" She looked at Ash and Fennekin, the fear rapidly escalating within her. "Oh, _no_..."

"Come on, little Serena..." Adam whispered mockingly, as if they were playing a simple game. His teeth were bared as he grinned sadistically, widely.

Serena began to tremble in fear, the horror of the situation completely overwhelming her. She had to be quick in making her decision, otherwise Adam will make the choice for her and kill one of them...or maybe even the _both_ of them... This was no doubt what Adam had planned all along...

For her to suffer, after all she had done to humiliate him, despite whatever choice she made...

A realization suddenly hit her. If Adam wanted her to suffer, then...she was already giving it to him... She needed to stop being afraid...

Glaring at him again, this time more courageously, she spat savagely, " _Never_."

He sneered malevolently. "Then I believe I'll have Aggron do the honors for us."

"I won't let you do that either, Adam. I beat you once before, despite the odds that were against me. I can surely beat you once again."

"Heh, yeah." Adam leaned towards Serena; she could smell the putrid after-stench of burned flesh from the wounded half of his face. "I'd _love_ to see you try..."

She promptly spat him in the face, causing his head to fly backward, his arms blurred as they flew to his face.

"AGH! YOU STUPID BI-"

Serena kicked Adam in the shin before he could complete his sentence before bursting into a mad dash towards Fennekin, who was closer. Nick immediately let out a high-pitched scream of panic, but before the Trainer could reach him, Aggron, reacting on the latest attack to its Trainer, opened its mouth, which formed a gray sphere that then fired a silver beam. The beam traveled over Nick's head and hit the ground separating him and Serena, causing a large explosion.

Letting out a scream as she felt an unknown force abruptly propel her backward, Serena then felt the ground greet her unceremoniously. At that moment, she heard a groan of pain emanate from Ash. Looking up, the first thing she saw was a billowing cloud of smoke. Then, she could distinguish Ash's body lying on the ground as well, likely having been released by Floyd during the explosion caused by Aggron's Flash Cannon.

However...she couldn't see her Fennekin...

"Why that Arceus-damn girl..." she heard Adam snarl. There were rustling sounds nearby, and they were growing closer as he spoke. "If THAT is how she wants to play this game...well, _game on_. Where the hell is she?... Come on out, little Serena! Heh heh heh... I'm gonna _get_ you..."

Serena got up on her feet, and as she did so, she saw Adam stumbling aimlessly towards her, apparently not having any idea on which direction he was going. His right eye was fully closed, while his left was half-open. Her spit was still splattered all over his face, and it was staining the surgical fabric that was covering the wounded half of his face. Quietly, she tiptoed away from Adam as he continued to ramble madly, and she stepped through the smoke, approaching Ash.

To her relief, Serena saw that Ash was regaining consciousness, for his eyes were fluttering open.

"Wh-What?..." he moaned. "W-What's going on?..."

"Ash!" Serena whispered. "We have to get out of here now..."

"W-Why?"

"It's Adam and his gang. They're the ones who set the Pokémon Center on fire-"

"WHAT?!" Ash screamed in horror, to Serena's distress.

"Well, well, well, what do we have over _here_?..." a voice asked; it was shortly accompanied by a high-pitched giggle that chilled both Trainers to the bone. They stepped backward as Lloyd appeared through the smoke, his eyes glinting with malice. He giggled again, undoubtedly savoring the moment.

"You get away from us!" Ash cried angrily. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

No response. Ash looked at his shoulder, and upon seeing that it was empty, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, Pikachu isn't here..."

Serena sweat-dropped, while Lloyd burst out into maniacal laughter.

"Such lovely HILARITY!" he shrieked. "So LOVELY! HAHAHAHAHA! Now I am gonna SO enjoy killing you..."

"W-Without a Pokémon?" asked Ash nervously, noticing the lack of Pokémon at his opponents' disposals.

Lloyd giggled again and pulled out something. "Sometimes, I occasionally do things without the use of my Pokémon." He pressed a button, and a blade abruptly flipped out of the object he was holding; it glinted in the moonlight as he grinned. "Makes things _much_ more fun for myself..."

" **FEN!** " a voice snarled, and an Ember appeared out of nowhere, hitting Lloyd squarely in the back and setting his clothes on fire.

" **AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!** " the man screeched as he began running around frantically. "I'M ON FIRE, I'M ON **FIRE**! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Serena watched as Fennekin ran through the smoke, smiling. She gasped in relief.

"FENNEKIN!" she cried happily.

"FEN!" Fennekin barked back.

"AGGRON, USE FLASH CANNON!" Adam's voice called.

Serena and Ash spotted Aggron's silhouette advance towards Fennekin before firing another Flash Cannon. The attack hit the Fox Pokémon and sent it flying.

" **FENNEKIN!** " Serena screamed.

"I have had ENOUGH of this crap..." snarled Adam as he stepped through the smoke. Serena and Ash gritted their teeth as they spotted him. "I am NOW gonna kill you, all three of you, one by one, and mark my words! Your deaths shall be _slow_...and _painful_..." Adam looked insane now; both of his eyes were wide open and bloodshot; flecks of spit flew from his mouth. "AND THE LAST THING YOU ARE ALL GONNA HEAR IS MY LAUGHTER OF TRIUMPH!"

"Not if _I_ can help it!" Ash roared courageously as he ran towards Adam with the intention of attacking him, despite the severe disadvantage he was in.

Yawning in mock-boredom, Adam then thrust his right arm into Ash's abdomen with all of the power he could muster. The young Trainer grunted in pain, feeling his body suddenly vacate itself of all of oxygen that was inside. He reeled over, becoming overwhelmed by the massive pain.

Adam immediately seized this chance to raise his elbow, aiming it directly over Ash's head.

"FENNEKIN!" Serena screamed instinctively.

Fennekin nodded and, using the last of its strength, hopped between Ash and Adam, firing another Ember that struck the latter's raised arm, setting it ablaze.

" **YARGH!** " screeched Adam. "NOT AGAIN! ARCEUS-DAMN IT, **NO**!"

The villain began waving his arm around frantically, trying to put out the spreading fire. As it grew stronger, the screams became even more painful.

However, Serena no longer had any regrets for that. Instead, she ran up to Ash, who was still bent over.

"Ash, are you okay?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." groaned Ash. He then chuckled. "Man, that was reckless, wasn't it?"

"Darn right it was, Ash!" Serena immediately grabbed Ash's arm; to her surprise, no heat rose up to her cheeks. "Come on, we've gotta go!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Adam reappeared, the fire on his arm gone, but it appeared to be injured. " **AGGRON!** "

Another Flash Cannon appeared, again striking Fennekin and sending it flying in the air.

"FENNEKIN!"

"NOW AGGRON, **USE** \- OOF!"

Someone had struck Adam from behind with some sort of object, knocking him out, before quickly retreating back into the smoke. Aggron was unable to see its Trainer's assailant. Serena was able to take advantage of this distraction by running up to Fennekin, picking it up, and then running back to Ash.

"Quick, let's get outta here, Ash!" she exclaimed. Ash nodded in response, and both Trainers sped into the forest, their feet carrying them as fast as they could.

Just mere seconds after Serena and Ash disappeared into the confines of the forest, Adam's assailant slowly emerged from the thick smoke to watch them go, a large branch held in his hand tightly. One end of it was smeared with spatters of the dark crimson of Adam's blood.

Floyd let out a heavy sigh of relief before dropping the branch absentmindedly and running back into the smoke to attend to his comrades.

* * *

"Do you think they'll be able to catch up to us?" Ash asked as he continued running alongside Serena.

"I don't know, Ash, let's just keep running!" replied Serena. She then looked down at Fennekin, who was badly wounded but conscious. The bright-red eyes of the Fox Pokémon stared back up at her, and a small smile of relief appeared on its face; Serena smiled back in response. She was relieved Fennekin was okay.

Ash spoke up again. "Is that the Pokémon Center up ahead?"

Serena looked back up and saw the faint crimson hue, still miles ahead. The smell of burning wood was growing stronger.

"Yes, should be," she replied. "What else in this forest is gonna be on fire besides the Pokémon Center?"

"Can't believe those guys are really THAT willing to endanger the lives of Pokémon, just to fulfill what sick desires they have- AAARRRGGGHHH!"

"A-Ash?"

Serena stopped running and looked behind her, but she could not see much of anything. The entanglement of branches above them were blocking out most of the moonlight, rendering her eyesight almost useless, to the point where she could only see Ash's fallen outline, sitting against a tree.

"Ash, what happened?" she asked.

"S-Serena...I...Oh, I think I hurt my leg!" Ash exclaimed, his voice strained in agony.

Her eyes widened, and she gently set Fennekin down on the ground before attending to Ash.

"Where'd you hurt your leg, Ash? I can't see-"

"I think...it's my, uh...over here..."

She felt Ash grab her hand and guide it over to the spot where his wound was located. She noticed that it was near his patella, since Ash winced the moment it touched the wound. Thinking quickly, Serena remembered the handkerchief and searched around her person, but then remembered that she returned it to Ash.

"Ash, that handkerchief I gave back to you a while back-" she began.

"What about it?" asked Ash.

"Do you still have it?"

"Yeah, yeah I do. ...What, you're gonna use it as a bandage?"

"What other choice do I have? I've got nothing else on me."

"Okay, okay, I'll get it out..."

Serena could see Ash moving around, and heard some shuffling noises. Then, a minute later, she felt something being put into her hand.

"Here, Serena," he said.

Serena nodded and quickly tied the handkerchief around Ash's knee, hearing him moan slightly in pain.

"Ow, ow! Serena, careful!"

"Sorry! I really can't see much of anything; I'm trying my best. Besides, Adam and the others could be searching for us right now; we have to be quick-"

 **"COME ON OUT, LITTLE SERENA!"** a voice bellowed, shattering the otherwise tranquil, undisturbed silence.

Upon hearing that familiar enraged voice pierce the air, Serena and Ash crouched further down towards the ground, immediately becoming deathly silent. They could be able to hear distant, multiple rustling noises, as well as a deep thumping sound. Beads of sweat broke out on Serena's forehead.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YA, SERENA?!" Adam continued. "I WANT A WORD WITH YA! FIRST YOU RUIN MY FACE, AND THEN YOU RUIN MY ARCEUS-DAMN **ARM**! I AM GONNA GIVE YA A LITTLE LESSON IN MANNERS, SERENA! JUST SHOW YOURSELF, AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THIS LESSON WILL BE AS MERCILESS AS POSSIBLE!"

"Seriously, Adam," Floyd said, his voice barely audible due to the distance, "I think we should-"

"YOU THINK WE SHOULD **WHAT** , FLOYD?! HUH?! HIGHTAIL IT?! NO! HELL NO, FLOYD! NOT UNTIL I FIND THAT ARCEUS-DAMN LITTLE GIRL AND GIVE HER A WELL-DESERVED, ARCEUS-DAMN COMEUPPANCE! SHE HURT ME TOO MANY ARCEUS-DAMN TIMES, AND SHE IS GONNA GET IT!"

"Sounds like Adam's mad..." Ash whispered, chuckling softly. "Impressive, Serena."

"Thanks, I guess..." replied Serena.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Floyd's voice asked. Serena and Ash became silent again.

"Hear what?" Nick asked.

However, the Trainers heard Adam charge forward in another direction. "LITTLE SERENA!" he called furiously. "COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, YA LITTLE-"

"I think it came from over there!" Floyd shouted.

Serena and Ash heard the four rush off further into the forest...away from _their_ direction. Both let out long sighs of relief.

"That was a close one..." whispered Ash.

Serena merely nodded before slowly standing up. When she didn't hear any reactions from Adam or his cronies, she glanced at Ash's outline.

"They're gone," she said. She then stretched out her hand towards him. "Come on, let's go."

She knew that Ash was staring at her hand for a few moments, obviously contemplating something. Then, she felt his hand grab hers, and then, she lifted him up from the ground. However, Serena pulled a little too hard, and she felt Ash accidentally collide into her; she instinctively put her hand around to his back.

For a brief moment, Serena found herself back in the forest near the Pokémon Summer Camp, during the time Ash was rescuing her...

 _"It...It's happening all over again..."_ she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaannnddd...CLIFFHANGER! And what a cliffhanger it is: the entire forest rescue scene is replayed, but Ash and Serena have swapped roles! :D
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this late, shorter-than-usual chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	11. Escape, Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

"S- _Serena_?" asked Ash, surprised from the accidental hug the two of them were now sharing.

Serena blinked nervously, extremely relieved that the darkness shrouded her entire being, preventing her friend and crush from seeing the heavy shade of red that was rapidly flooding her face. Stuttering inaudibly, she broke away from him, dusting herself as if it were nothing to be concerned about.

"Come on, Ash!" she whispered. "We can't just stand here! We've gotta move! Adam might spot us any second now!"

The two Trainers immediately resumed their run, albeit a little slower due to the knee injury Ash sustained. To their immense relief, both were no longer able to hear Adam's voice, nor those of Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick. Running towards the bright hue of crimson straight ahead, their suspicions were confirmed as an ablaze structure came into their view; it was the Pokémon Center, its logo barely comprehensible as it was engulfed in red-hot flames. The atmosphere was filled with a burning smell, and pierced by loud crackling noises. Ash growled angrily and clenched his fists as both Trainers watched a section of it collapse.

"Those evil, good-for-nothing people!" he snarled. "Hopefully everyone got out okay..."

"SERENA!" a familiar voice called out. "ASH!"

Serena and Ash looked across their shoulders and saw Bonnie running up to them, Dedenne perched on her head as always.

"Serena, Ash!" the young girl exclaimed as she ran up to Serena and hugged her legs tightly as tears streamed down her face. "You guys are okay!"

"Dede!" added Dedenne.

"Hey, Bonnie," replied Ash. "Glad to see you're okay." His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Wait, what about Clemont and the Pokémon?"

Bonnie broke away from Serena and replied, "Everyone's okay! We all managed to get out of the Center just in time! We're all over there." She pointed off at a hill, where the older Trainers spotted a large crowd of people, including several firefighters and their Water-type Pokémon. "Come on!"

Serena and Ash followed Bonnie up the hill and away from the Pokémon Center. There, Ash immediately spotted a bed that held Clemont, who was fully awake. At his side was Pikachu, whose ears abruptly twitched; the Mouse Pokémon immediately spotted Ash and smiled happily.

"Pikapi!" he exclaimed as he hopped into Ash's arms.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Ash!" Clemont said, his eyes widening in relief. "Serena! You guys made it! Thank Arceus for that!"

"Hey, Clemont," replied Serena. "Glad to see you're up and all right."

"Yeah." The inventor then glanced at the burning Pokémon Center as firefighters continued battling the raging blaze. "Wonder what started that fire-"

"Adam," Serena said quickly, almost on instinct. "It was Adam and his gang, Clemont. They did this."

Clemont glared back at Serena, the shock evident in his eyes. "It was _their_ doing?" Serena nodded. "My Arceus. Why would they want to do something horrible like this, burn down a Pokémon Center while there are people and Pokémon inside? And in the middle of the night, when they'd be sleeping or recovering, and utterly defenseless?!" He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe it..." Then, he looked up at Serena and Ash. "But I guess they're gone now, right?"

Ash nodded, but Serena didn't respond. She knew that this was definitely far from over, especially since Adam was now holding a deep hatred against her that would not last until the day came when one of them would die. With that concluded, Serena hoped it wouldn't be her who would have to die.

Then, she heard Clemont speak again. "Hey, Serena?"

She looked down at the bedridden inventor. "Yeah, Clemont?"

Her eyes widened when she saw him stretch out his hand, which was clutching a single Poké Ball.

"I found this in your bag. I'm assuming this is Fennekin's."

Serena looked down, realizing that she forgot about Fennekin, who was still held tightly and protectively in her arms. Looking back at Clemont and smiling, she replied, "Thanks." and took the Poké Ball from him. Looking back down at Fennekin and its happy, shimmering red eyes, she smiled and aimed the Poké Ball.

"Fennekin, return," she commanded. As soon as the Fox Pokémon disappeared into the device, she looked at it and added, "You have a good rest."

Then, the Trainer felt something tug at her skirt. Looking down at her side, she saw Bonnie smiling up at her happily.

"Serena, I'm glad you're okay," she said.

Serena smiled back. "Thanks, Bonnie. ...Same with you."

Then, she looked from shoulder to shoulder. At her right side, Ash smiled proudly at her, no doubt as a thanks for saving him minutes earlier. At her left, Clemont was also smiling, relieved that she and Ash had managed to get themselves out of this predicament. Then, she looked down at her Poké Ball, knowing for sure Fennekin was also smiling, proud to know that they worked together to solve a mutual problem, as any Trainer and their Pokémon should do.

All of her friends were smiling at her. And, without a single hint of reluctance, she smiled back at all of them.

_**"Serena, if you feel that your debt to me..."** _

She suddenly pursed her lips. Ash was quick to notice this.

"Serena?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Serena looked at Ash. The bright hue coming from the Center blaze bathed the entire scene. With the wind blowing, it resembled some sort of dramatic sunset.

_**"...is getting in the way of whatever dream you want to pursue with Fennekin..."** _

"Ash..." she said.

"I think I've made my decision."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Decision?"

_**"...then you are free to leave us if you wish."** _

"About my debt to you getting in the way of my own dream, of Fennekin's dream. About if I should leave the group or not."

"You're LEAVING?!" Bonnie exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"WHY?!" cried Clemont, equally surprised.

_**"Don't ever..."** _

However, Ash smiled in understanding. "Oh, yeah. That decision. So, looks like you've already made it. What do you say, Serena? Still think you should stay and repay your debt to me? Or is this where we say goodbye to you?" His smile widened. "Just know that it's okay, Serena, whatever you say."

"NO, IT'S NOT OKAY!" exclaimed Bonnie as she hugged Serena's leg. "SERENA, YOU CAN'T LEAVE US! YOU JUST **CAN'T**!"

"Oh, it's okay, Bonnie," replied Serena as a new smile crept onto her face. "I'm not leaving anyone."

**_"..._ ever _let anything stand in the way of your dreams..."_**

"So I take it that you're staying?" asked Ash in clarification.

Serena faced him. "Yeah. But not because I still feel like I owe you. You see, as I spent the last several weeks traveling with you, Clemont, and Bonnie, I came to a realization. It's true, Ash, that I initially wanted to travel with you so I can thank you, and nothing else. But with each passing adventure you thrust me in, I've come to see life as you see it: a grand adventure, with new things to discover, including yourself. But right now, I feel that if I travel with you-" She looked at Clemont and Bonnie. "-without _all_ of you, then I won't have as much support and encouragement in the form of friends. Friends like you.

"Without all of you, I wouldn't be me in this Pokémon journey. So that's why, for the time being, I'm staying. So I can discover myself by being with you all."

_**"...including me."** _

Everyone smiled happily in response, especially Ash.

"I guess you made the right decision, Serena," he replied.

The crimson hue began to fade; the firefighters had won the battle as the Pokémon Center blaze finally started dying.

* * *

**"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE LOST THEM!"**

Roaring out with unthinkable fury, Adam punched the nearest tree trunk with all of the strength he can muster, actually causing some leaves to disconnect from their branches and flutter to the ground. Seconds later, he howled in agony and withdrew his fist, clutching it as it swelled. Lloyd snickered in sadistic pleasure.

"Can't believe...that stupid little girl... _escaped_..." snarled Adam between heavy pants.

"Adam, you have to calm down," Floyd protested. "We'll get back at that Serena again, but we have bigger problems to worry about-"

Adam glared at him, his eyes alive with fiery rage. "Bigger problems to worry about? Bigger problems to **WORRY** about?! There is no, I repeat, NO problem that can be possibly BIGGER than losing that Arceus-damn girl and her dim-witted fox! I WILL NOT rest until I find her and KILL her, slowly and painfully! I shall teach her the true meaning of suffering, and I'll make sure that she BEGS to be killed! I'm gonna show her, I'm gonna show her, I'M GONNA SHOW HER! **ARGH!** "

The green-haired man stomped his foot to the ground and began kicking at the dirt viciously, sending up small clouds of dust. Floyd stepped back in caution.

"I'LL GET MY REVENGE, I SWEAR TO ARCEUS!" Adam roared. "I SHALL, AND IT WILL BE **DELICIOUS**!"

Taking advantage of his comrades' distractions, Floyd glanced towards the direction of the red hue that was the Pokémon Center blaze, which seemed to be, to his relief, growing dimmer and dimmer as it was being extinguished. He knew from the bottom of his heart that Serena and her friend managed to make it back and found help. As much as he was still loyal towards Adam, Floyd knew that he just couldn't let anything bad happen to her. Not after what happened to Jake.

Floyd's eyes softened as soon as he remembered the look of betrayal on Jake's eyes during that fateful day...

 _"Serena really reminds me of Jake,"_ he thought solemnly. _"I guess...that's why I'm being so protective of her. Could this be a way to rectify my past mistake? Could it be possible that Arceus is actually pitiful of me and therefore is sending me a miracle of sorts? Or is it just some random coincidence?... I don't know what to think..."_

"Think we should get back to that Pokémon Center we set on fire?" asked Nick suddenly. "Those two kids might've backtracked there."

"If they did," snarled Adam, "then there'll be no doubt be all those firefighters around! We cannot afford to have any witnesses who'd just interfere!" He looked away, a nasty glare on his face. "Whether or not we know where that stupid girl is, we can't be able to reach her. We can only wait for the perfect moment, and that perfect moment is now far out of our reach for Arceus knows how freaking long! I should've just finished her when I had the chance-"

"Why are you so focused on Serena, Adam?" Floyd asked.

Adam glared at his comrade. "... _What_?!"

Floyd immediately knew that he was in for a whole lot of hurt. "I-I mean," he stuttered defensively, "isn't this just a waste of time? What about our heists? We should probably shift our focus back on those before we get ourselves into further trouble than what we're already facing-"

"SCREW OUR HEISTS!" Spit flew out of Adam's mouth as he screamed his latest outburst. "UNTIL WE FIND SERENA AND GIVE HER ALL THE SUFFERING THAT SHE NEEDS AND DESERVES, WE WILL **NOT** ENGAGE IN ANY HEISTS, ANY PAYDAYS, **WHATSOEVER**! I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE EARTH TILL WE FINALLY IMPOSE OUR REVENGE ON THAT ACCURSED SERENA, HER WORTHLESS FENNEKIN, AND ALL HER ARCEUS-DAMN ANNOYING FRIENDS!"

 _"_ Our _revenge?"_ Floyd thought bitterly. _"Or is it just_ yours _?"_

"Aw, man," Nick groaned. "I always liked heisting stuff-"

Immediately, Adam punched Nick hard in the face, sending him down to the ground. As the stocky man cried out in pain, Adam kicked him in the stomach.

"WELL, THAT'S JUST TOO FREAKING **BAD**!" he roared in response.

"Hey, Adam, come on!" exclaimed Floyd, stepping between Adam and the fallen Nick. "Chill! Nick was just saying what he wanted to say!"

"Chill, my ass! For as long as _I'm_ the ringleader of this group, everyone does as _I_ say! And _I_ say that we find that lil' Serena and give her what she deserves!"

Floyd crossed his arms. "Well, it doesn't work that way when you're treating us like shit."

Adam's eyelid twitched, and Floyd knew that he said the wrong thing. However, he merely stood his ground as Adam raised his fist, but before he could throw a punch, the red hue of the blaze completely faded, shrouding the quartet in the darkness of the night. Floyd heard Adam growl angrily.

"Arceus-damn it, I can barely see anything... Okay, we're moving out, gang. We wait till daylight breaks, then we make our move."

"But won't the girl and her friends be gone at this point?" Nick asked reluctantly.

There was a deathly silence. Then, Adam replied, "Arceus-damn it. Arceus-damn it! I gotta rethink my entire plan now!" More silence followed for a brief moment as Floyd helped Nick up. Finally, the green-haired man continued, "I guess the girl's out of our hair, but only for so long. Heh heh heh... We'll get you, lil' Serena. You better start counting your last days, 'cause we'll find you, and once we do, we'll make you and everyone you love dearly PAY. Alright, we're moving out!"

The quartet started advancing deeper into the forest, away from the Pokémon Center.

"Adam's gone nuts, hasn't he?" Nick whispered to Floyd.

"Tell me about it," replied Floyd as a small smile crept onto his face. "Guess that girl damaged more than just half of his face..."

As he continued following the others through the thick forest, Floyd couldn't help but feel rather proud of himself. Even if it was only for a brief moment, he had finally stood up to Adam personally, with both of them having legitimate eye contact...and it was a good feeling... He had never stood up to Adam before in his life, and he wondered why he hadn't done so earlier. The smile on his face widened as he delved into his thoughts.

 _"I guess this experience was actually good for me..."_ he thought. _"I probably wouldn't dare to stand up against Adam again, so soon, but when we find Serena, I shall do everything that I can possibly can to defend her from Adam."_ A soft and inaudible chuckle escaped his lips, going unnoticed. _"When I see her again, I'll thank her for what she's done to help me."_ Then, his eyes narrowed. _"And...I'll ask her if she knows anything about Jake... There_ has _to be a reason she reminds me of him..._

_"It can't be just some random coincidence..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, everyone. We're close to the end of this fic! Now, before we get on to that, I would like to inform you all that this fic is going to feel woefully unfinished. That's because...it was supposed to be the prequel of something bigger.
> 
> For those of you who haven't been following me over at FanFiction.Net, let alone for years and years, there was going (and actually WAS) to be a sequel to this fic, one of a scale larger than this one. Titled "Judgment's Fall", it was published at FanFiction.Net in 2014 and constantly updated there over the course of a year, but fatigue, writer's block, and overall disillusionment with how the story was going led me to eventually delete it. I plan on rewriting "Judgment's Fall", but its connection to this story will be entirely severed. I have no plans of revisiting the continuity I set up for "Separation" ever again, sadly. I hope you'll understand.
> 
> Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, everyone! We have reached the end of "Separation", at long last! Now, for those of you who didn't read the ending Author's Note in the previous chapter, I want to let you know that while this fic might have an open-ended sort of ending, there will actually be no sequel to this whatsoever. There was originally a plan to do so, and it materialized for a good amount of time back in 2015, but it ultimately was never meant to be.
> 
> So yeah, expect some stuff to be left permanently unwrapped here. I apologize. Besides, the anime's progressed too far beyond the XY saga for any of this to be considered canon anymore. It is what it is.
> 
> Alright, enough explanations! On with the final chapter. ENJOY!
> 
> Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
> 
> -Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
> -Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
> -Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
> -Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
> -Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
> 
> And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
> 
> -Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
> -Not sharing food and drinks with others  
> -Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
> -Avoiding close contact with others  
> -Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
> -Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
> -Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
> 
> If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

_**"You**_ **what _?!"_** exclaimed Grace in shock as she stared at Serena through the telephone's computer screen, causing the latter to flinch. The young Trainer felt as if her mother would literally burst through the screen and throttle her. _ **"Oh my**_ **Arceus** _ **, Serena, it's a good thing you survived all of that! Who knows what would have happened if those guys got the better of you! My goodness, Serena, I'm**_ **really _glad you're okay..._** **"**

"Well, I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for the help of Fennekin and my friends," replied Serena, gesturing to Fennekin, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie.

Grace sighed in relief and smiled slightly. _**"Thank you all for keeping my daughter safe."**_

"Ah, come on, we didn't really do all the work," Ash replied honestly as he chuckled. "Serena took pretty good care of herself. You should've seen her out there! She even had a Pokémon battle with one of those crooks, literally blew him off the ground! She was awesome!"

The woman raised an eyebrow curiously. _**"Really, huh? A legitimate Pokémon battle?"**_

"Uh-huh, with strategy and everything!" exclaimed Serena, feeling her chest swell up with pride. "And Fennekin did very well, didn't you, Fennekin?"

Fennekin barked happily in response, prompting a chuckle from Grace.

 _ **"Wow, my little girl's had a Pokémon** **battle,"**_ she said, almost to herself rather than to Serena. _**"She's growing up so fast..."**_

Serena blinked in surprise as she watched her mother wipe away a tear. Then, Grace stared at her daughter, her eyes visibly shimmering with tears.

 _ **"I am so proud to hear of what you accomplished, Serena, I really am."**_ She paused, observing Serena thoroughly, as if she was contemplating something. _**"And** **I take it that it hasn't changed your opinion about traveling? I remember how much you didn't like traveling outdoors, especially in the forest-"**_

"Well, my opinion on traveling outdoors is starting to change," Serena interrupted. "Slowly, but surely." She flashed her mother a wide smile, which was further emphasized by Fennekin's own, created as a response to its Trainer's action. "Mom, I'm gonna be fine. I mean, I _did_ just square off against a group of bad guys and came out victorious. And I've also got a whole bunch of friends to help me if I ever need their help, every step of the way."

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Serena!" exclaimed Ash, giving her a determined fist.

Grace's smile widened even more. _**"Oh, it's good to hear you have such support, Serena. ...Fine, I'm convinced. You'll be fine."**_

"Thanks, Mom." Just then, Serena remembered something, a matter that proved to be extremely private for her and can only be shared with Grace. She looked at Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. "Wait, don't go yet, Mom. Hey, can you guys just give us a moment? I need it to be private."

"Whatever you say, Serena," replied Ash, giving her a tip of his cap as he left the room, accompanied by Clemont and Bonnie.

Once the three left the otherwise-empty communication room and closed the door behind them, Serena pulled out Fennekin's Poké Ball.

"Fennekin, that means you too," she said. The Fox Pokémon merely barked in agreement, seconds before being summoned back into its Poké Ball.

 _ **"So, what is it you wanna talk to me about,** **Serena?"**_ Grace asked curiously.

"Well..." Serena hesitated for a moment, unsure about the severity of the subject she was about to bring up. She didn't know if she was right about her theory, but all of the clues she had, it all seemed to click into place. She just HAD to make sure she wasn't making any blind assumptions out of it all.

And besides, there was no way she could be, in any way possible, related to Jake. She just refused to accept it.

 _ **"Well,** **Serena?"**_ Grace piped, bringing Serena back to reality. _**"What is it?"**_

"Mom..." replied Serena, "did...did you know anyone named... _Jake_?"

Grace's eyes widened in surprise. _**"Jake, you** **say?"**_ Her brow furrowed as she thought about the name's familiarity. Then... _**"No, doesn't ring a bell. Sorry."**_

"Oh, okay." Serena's voice was full of relief, and she smiled widely. "Well, thanks anyway, Mom."

 _ **"Wait, wait a** **minute!"**_ exclaimed Grace, using the voice she always used whenever Serena was in trouble, causing the girl to stop dead in her tracks. _**"Why did you ask if I knew anyone named Jake? ...By any chance, were any of the four guys you mentioned named Jake?"**_

"No, but one of them mentioned him to me. He...He said that Jake was a Rhyhorn Racer just like you, Mom, so I thought that if there was any connection-"

 _ **"Well, there** **isn't any connection,"**_ Grace interrupted, quickly and sternly. _**"Please, let's-let's not talk about the people you came across ever again. Just hearing about them makes my skin crawl** **already."**_ She shivered for a brief moment, emphasizing her lack of comfort; then, her mood quickly changed, and she smiled brightly at her daughter. _**"Well, Serena, I really appreciate you calling me."**_ Her eyes softened considerably. _ **"I...I really miss you."**_

Serena smiled back, something that surprised her. Normally, she wouldn't have this kind of connection with her mother, not since she became a teenager. But in the wake of the incidents at the forest and the Pokémon Center, she found herself desiring a more communication with Grace, undoubtedly because the events were sheer near-death scenarios for her. Realizing this, she widened her smile, and she reached out a hand, touching the computer screen lightly.

"I miss you too, Mom," she replied. "I love you."

Grace gasped upon hearing such a rare compliment from her own daughter, the one who seemed to despise her so much. Then, she smiled as she reached out a hand to touch her own screen, placing her hand over Serena's. Bright, sparkling tears of happiness were flowing from her eyes and down her cheeks.

_**"I love you too, Serena."** _

* * *

Serena left the telephone room, a large smile on her face and a slight skip present in her step. Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie walked alongside her as they left the Pokémon Center. In the aftermath of the previous Center's destruction, everyone was taken to another Center located near Cyllage City, conveniently the next destination for Ash's second Gym battle. After all she went through, Serena thought it was best if she called her mother and gave her an update on her travels.

"Someone looks happy," Clemont said, catching her attention. "What did you two talk about that was so private?"

Serena smiled at him mischievously. "If I told you, it wouldn't be so private, now would it?"

The aspiring inventor sweat-dropped. "Oh yeah, that's right." He then looked down the pathway ahead. "Well, Cyllage City's close. That means-"

"My Gym battle with Grant!" exclaimed Ash, raising an excited fist in the air. "Oh man, I just can't _wait_!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added, smiling as well.

"Well, what're we waiting for?!" Serena cried as she ran ahead of the others. "Come on, let's go, guys!"

"Whoa, hold up, Serena!" Ash called, laughing as he ran after Serena, closely followed by a joyous Bonnie. He could barely hear Clemont sigh in frustration.

"Oh, come on, we're RUNNING?!" he moaned. "I can't _handle_ running! And I've still got bruises all over..."

"Come on, Clemont!" Bonnie shouted. "Or we'll leave you behind!"

Clemont immediately burst into his fastest sprint, although he already began to sweat profusely. "Come ON, guys!"

Meanwhile, Serena stared straight ahead into the bright horizon as she continued sprinting, and her smile widened. These past couple of days, no matter how dangerous and life-threatening they were, really helped her gain a better understanding of herself, she judged. She knew that her childhood crush on Ash was far from over; after all, who in their right mind _wouldn't_ like someone who was willing to risk life and limb for the people he cared deeply for? However, she also knew that she couldn't let it fully dictate her decisions, just as her mother did. Serena knew that she needed to find more time to be herself, and that way, she could truly discover what she wanted to do in life. And now that she saw herself for who she really was, she was willing to start that change.

Then, she thought about her Fennekin, still stored in its Poké Ball, its potential locked somewhere in its mind, the potential that she long ignored...until now...

 _"Don't worry, Fennekin,"_ she thought. _"I'll no longer hold you and your capabilities back. Together, we'll find what we want to do together, and together with that goal, the both of us will become stronger. For now, we'll just have to start searching."_ Serena felt Ash join her side in running. _"And we won't do it alone. We have Ash. We have him, Bonnie, and Clemont."_ Her smile widened as she felt Bonnie and Clemont join her side as well. _"Together, we'll all reach our dreams."_

* * *

_A scream of pain and agony..._

Adam jerked his eyelids open, the right one with some difficulty, due to the pain it still had from being badly burned. Sitting up, feeling himself physically resettle back in the tent he and the others set up for camp, he groaned with frustration and placed a hand over the damaged, bandaged half of his face. The touch was instantly greeted with a stinging pain, causing him to retreat his hand almost immediately. Adam gritted his teeth, breathing through the slits between them.

 _"That damn girl..."_ he thought bitterly as he licked his lips. _"I swear, I_ will _teach her the meaning of true pain and suffering..."_

Suddenly, the zipper to his tent descended on its own, the folds flew back to reveal Nick's face.

"BOSS, BOSS, BOSS!" he cried loudly, startling Adam.

" **WHAT?!** " Adam yelled. "I'M ALREADY WIDE AWAKE, YOU KNOW!"

"Sorry, boss, but we have a serious problem on our hands..."

Adam placed a hand on his forehead in disbelief. "Please tell me someone didn't take all of our spare food..."

"It appears that way. Seems like forest Pokémon got to 'em..."

"Whose job was it to properly store the food?" When Nick went silent, Adam immediately remembered. "Damn you to hell, Nick. Swear to Arceus, if you keep on fouling up like that, it'll be YOU who'll be taken by the forest Pokémon!" He stood up abruptly and stormed out of the tent, muttering, "Incompetent fools..."

His nostrils were greeted with the smell of recently-burnt campfire wood, and his eyes gazed upon the embers that remained of the fire the group set up. Then, they focused on Floyd and Lloyd, who were staring down at a box that was torn up and its contents missing. Lloyd was snickering, while Floyd appeared glum.

"It was our last food supply..." Floyd muttered sadly. "Such good food too..."

"Yeah, well you can blame Nick for that shtick," Adam snapped as he approached the trashed box, startling Floyd.

"Oh, Adam! G-Good morning, boss!"

"Yeah, you wish." Adam remained still for a few seconds, then he let out an inhuman roar and kicked the box over on its side. "DAMN IT, DAMN IT ALL!"

Lloyd snickered in response. "Good to see you in such high spirits, boss," he snarled happily.

Adam growled and punched Lloyd in the face, causing him to fall over to the ground. However, the red-haired man merely let out a loud, malicious cackle as he slammed the ground with a clenched fist in amusement. He then quickly sat up, his teeth fully bared as he gave Adam a hungry smile.

"You may keep getting angry at everything known to man all you want, Adam," he jeered in a sing-song voice, "but it's gonna get you NOWHERE! HAHAHA!"

Adam opened his mouth to shout back at Lloyd, but then, he closed it, his expression of anger turning into one of disappointment.

"Arceus-damn it, Lloyd," he spat. Then, he sighed. "...You're right... Can't just stand here yelling my ass off... I need to think of a good plan so I can get my well-deserved revenge against that Serena, but what plan should I come up with? We're out of cash, out of food, low on supplies..."

"We obviously need to get all of those things back, then," suggested Floyd.

"Oh, like I didn't know that already?" Adam placed a finger on his chin as he began to think. "Well, first and foremost, we need to get money. But there's gonna be no doubt those kids already gave out descriptions of us, and everyone in Kalos knows who we look like. Therefore, we're gonna need to _improvise_..."

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Nick exclaimed happily.

However, Adam scoffed. "Oh, great. Just turn to the guy who practically lost our spare food for all the answers..."

"No, seriously! I found this at the Pokémon Center just before we burned it down to a crisp!"

Nick excitedly held out a small but colorful flyer for Adam to see. At first, he attempted to ignore it, but upon seeing the familiar emblem that was printed on it in bold lettering, his attention was caught in a split-second; he snatched it out of his accomplice's hands. Reading it to clarify that he was seeing the real thing, he smiled malevolently upon confirming its legitimacy. Lloyd giggled in satisfaction, while Floyd raised a curious eyebrow.

"Why?" Floyd asked. "What's the new plan, boss?"

"See for yourself," replied Adam as he handed Floyd the flyer.

"The Wallace Cup," he read. He then looked up at Adam. "What about it?"

"Continue reading."

Obliging, Floyd's eyes widened upon noticing the extra caption. "Contest Master Wallace and Contest Spectacular Idol Lisia to be present?!"

"Wallace and Lisia," explained Adam. "Among the most famous and influential people in the world, and Lisia's also the youngest of that elite. It's quite perfect for a little ransom..."

"Ooh, ransom..." Lloyd whispered hungrily.

"I also managed to nab ourselves a couple of brochures!" Nick added, raising them in the air for the others to see.

Adam's smile promptly widened, his teeth becoming bare, and both of his eyes glinted with a newfound malice. A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Oh, don't you just love it when a plan comes together?" He stood up and stretched out his arms in a glorious manner. "Now then, here's the plan, guys..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of that small fic! You know, I was really proud of how this story turned out back when I finished it, and I still am. I actually have nothing to complain about at all. The XY saga of the anime was my favorite saga ever, mostly because of the AmourShipping, naturally. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and all of it doesn't come without me saying that "Separation" is currently my favorite story in terms of enjoyment in the writing process. I wish things worked out better when it came to the sequel, but ultimately, I think this open-ended conclusion is something the story needed in the end, because I really doubt we're getting a lot of things answered in the anime canon in the first place, anyway. :D
> 
> TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. UNTIL NEXT TIME!


End file.
